WEBVTT 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:14.279 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:16.600 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:19.800 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:22.980 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:27.199 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.079 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:35.299 by this week's sermon. I want to go on a bit 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:39.060 of an adventure with you guys today. The last 00:00:39.060 --> 00:00:42.859 few weeks' messages have explored how the risen 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:47.659 Jesus doesn't just save us, but today we want 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:51.399 to look at how he sends us. And we see in the 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:55.039 story of Easter, which was a true live one, the 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:58.159 story relates to us because we see these disciples 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.619 who witness Jesus. They get a little bit scared. 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:04.359 They head behind some locked doors. out to some 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.459 fishing boats, to the Mount of Olives, and then 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:11.359 we watch as Jesus begins to reframe the disciples' 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:16.200 fear into a global calling. And he invites us, 00:01:16.219 --> 00:01:18.799 he goes beyond the disciples in that moment, 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.620 and he enters into this moment here, and he invites 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:24.640 us to live that same kind of spirit -empowered 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:29.349 witness right where we are. And so whether you're 00:01:29.349 --> 00:01:31.510 here for the first time or whether you've been 00:01:31.510 --> 00:01:33.590 with us through the entirety of the series, I 00:01:33.590 --> 00:01:38.769 want to say, welcome. We never believe that you're 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:42.530 here by accident. And if you've been journeying 00:01:42.530 --> 00:01:44.269 with us, you've seen that we've walked through 00:01:44.269 --> 00:01:50.340 a series called Living Hope. And we started exploring 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:53.219 some of the unexpected portraits of Jesus that 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:56.239 raises out of the days that were surrounding 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:00.280 his death and his resurrection. We've seen him 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:06.060 weep. We've seen him serve. Last week, we saw 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:10.460 that he lives. He died and he rose. And today, 00:02:10.460 --> 00:02:15.250 we meet him as the God who sends. And we meet 00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:18.129 him as a God who sends because resurrection wasn't 00:02:18.129 --> 00:02:21.550 the end of the story. It was actually the beginning 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:26.430 of a really cool movement. And Jesus, just as 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:29.189 he was then, is still sending his people into 00:02:29.189 --> 00:02:33.750 the world today. And that includes... I like 00:02:33.750 --> 00:02:36.469 it. There's you, me, us. It's a bit of a blend. 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:40.159 And so go with me for a little bit of a moment 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:42.780 to Pastor Pablo's map. Thank you, Pastor Pablo. 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:45.560 To the Mount of Olives. So we're a little bit 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.020 east of Jerusalem. This is the same place where 00:02:49.020 --> 00:02:52.360 if we read scripture, we see that there's a lot 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:54.460 of things that actually happened here. This is 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.680 where David, King David, fled and wept as he 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.879 was trying to flee his son, Absalom, who was 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:02.180 following him. This was a place where the prophets 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:05.219 came and were buried in hope for the awaited 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:09.560 Messiah. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. And then 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:12.719 just days before this is where Jesus' triumphal 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:16.560 entry had began, Palm Sunday. And so here we 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:19.360 are standing post -resurrection. So Jesus has 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.379 died and he's resurrected. He came back to life, 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:24.479 which is insane. And this is just before he ascends, 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.599 which is equally as crazy. And here he is standing 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:32.439 again with his disciples, resurrected, alive, 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:38.000 and he's about to leave. But he's not abandoning 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.319 them. He's standing on the precipice of this 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.280 thing that we call empowerment. He's about to 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.379 empower them. And if you were like the disciples 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:49.259 or if you're like me when you started reading 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.520 the Bible for the first time and you get to this 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:53.319 and you see who the person of Jesus is, you think 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.500 maybe he's about to launch a global revolution. 00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:02.430 But instead, he says to them, you will be my 00:04:02.430 --> 00:04:05.389 witnesses. So let's read the text together as 00:04:05.389 --> 00:04:08.129 a whole. Acts chapter 1, verse 1 to 11. It says, 00:04:08.210 --> 00:04:11.169 in my former book, so Luke is writing to a friend 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:13.710 of his named Theophilus, and he's talking about 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:15.810 his former book, Luke, which talks about all 00:04:15.810 --> 00:04:18.610 of the things that Jesus did and taught until 00:04:18.610 --> 00:04:21.089 the day that he was taken up to heaven. And after 00:04:21.089 --> 00:04:23.569 giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to 00:04:23.569 --> 00:04:26.209 the apostles he had chosen, After his suffering, 00:04:26.329 --> 00:04:28.850 he presented himself to them, and then he gave 00:04:28.850 --> 00:04:33.269 many convincing proofs that he was alive. He 00:04:33.269 --> 00:04:35.930 appeared to them over a period of 40 days and 00:04:35.930 --> 00:04:38.790 spoke about the kingdom of God, and on one occasion, 00:04:38.970 --> 00:04:41.810 while he was eating with them, he gave them this 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:48.250 command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for 00:04:48.250 --> 00:04:51.310 the gift my father promised, which you have heard 00:04:51.310 --> 00:04:54.889 me speak about. For John baptized with water, 00:04:55.009 --> 00:04:58.189 but in a few days you will be baptized with the 00:04:58.189 --> 00:05:01.550 Holy Spirit. So then they gathered around him 00:05:01.550 --> 00:05:04.490 and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:06.689 to restore the kingdom to Israel? And we'll talk 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:08.949 about what that means. And he said to them, it's 00:05:08.949 --> 00:05:11.069 not for you to know the times or the dates the 00:05:11.069 --> 00:05:14.029 Father has set by his own authority, but you 00:05:14.029 --> 00:05:16.389 will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes 00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:22.149 on you, and you will be my witnesses. all of 00:05:22.149 --> 00:05:25.769 Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:05:26.310 --> 00:05:29.170 And after he had said this, he was taken up before 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.949 their eyes, and a cloud hid them from their sight, 00:05:31.990 --> 00:05:34.029 and they were looking intently up at the sky 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:36.769 as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:39.610 in white stood beside him. Men of Galilee, they 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:43.550 said, why do you stand looking into the sky? 00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:47.769 And then the same Jesus who was taken from you 00:05:47.769 --> 00:05:50.529 into heaven will come back in the same way you've 00:05:50.529 --> 00:05:55.050 seen him go into heaven. Lord, thank you that 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:58.589 your word is alive and you tell us it can pierce 00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.449 bone marrow, get right into parts that no human 00:06:01.449 --> 00:06:04.870 eye can see on our own, but your word can see 00:06:04.870 --> 00:06:06.589 it and can go right to where it needs to go. 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:10.129 And so Holy Spirit, thank you that you lead us 00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:13.910 into truth. And so would you take words and study 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:15.990 things that we see on a screen and would you 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:17.990 connect them together in such a way that makes 00:06:17.990 --> 00:06:20.709 sense to the people who are in this space today 00:06:20.709 --> 00:06:24.250 and those who are watching online? We need you, 00:06:24.290 --> 00:06:32.069 Holy Spirit. Amen. So you will be my witnesses. 00:06:32.670 --> 00:06:39.290 And then he ascends. He ascends. He begins to 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:41.509 go up. And from my perspective, this is both, 00:06:41.550 --> 00:06:43.949 like, super climactic, because, like, when have 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:46.649 any of us ever seen anything like this? And yet, 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:48.689 at the same time, probably for the disciples, 00:06:48.810 --> 00:06:53.110 a bit anticlimactic. Like, what's going on? Like, 00:06:53.110 --> 00:06:56.649 he just said he's giving us power, and then he's 00:06:56.649 --> 00:06:59.670 disappeared. And, like, it's going to start, 00:06:59.810 --> 00:07:02.759 right? Like, something's going to happen. But 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.439 he ascends. So even after everything it is that 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.060 they had seen, including the resurrection, the 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:12.100 disciples ask the question, Lord, so let's go 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:16.240 back before he ascends. He gives them instruction 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:19.060 and they say to him, Lord, are you going to restore 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:22.259 the kingdom to Israel? And some of the people 00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:23.860 there, if you've studied this a bit, you might 00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:25.879 have heard it before, but the disciples and the 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.060 Jewish people of the time were holding out for 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:30.399 some kind of political victory. They thought, 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:33.100 There's going to be national renewal that happens. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.160 There's going to be a king that comes, sets us 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:37.920 free. They're in their mind Jesus was actually 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.699 physically going to sit on a throne. He was going 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:43.620 to overthrow Rome and he was going to fix it 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:47.980 all. And what's neat here is Jesus doesn't rebuke 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:51.399 their longing and be like, guys, no. He doesn't 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.939 rebuke their longing. He actually begins in this 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:56.819 moment to redirect their expectation towards 00:07:56.819 --> 00:07:59.399 something that was far greater than they could 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.699 even hope or imagine for themselves. And so he 00:08:02.699 --> 00:08:06.000 says, it's not for you to know the times or the 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.040 dates, but you will receive power and you will 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:15.259 be my witnesses. And so here they're asking for 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:19.379 restoration, but Jesus is talking about witness. 00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:23.649 They wanted certainty in this moment, but Jesus 00:08:23.649 --> 00:08:28.649 was giving them a calling. And so before the 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:32.190 mountain... of Acts chapter 1, there was the 00:08:32.190 --> 00:08:36.669 shoreline of John chapter 21. I love the Bible 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:38.450 because there's certain times when you're reading 00:08:38.450 --> 00:08:41.049 it where your brain just like comes alive. At 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:43.009 least mine does sometimes. I feel a bit like 00:08:43.009 --> 00:08:45.429 childish at times. I imagine things as what it 00:08:45.429 --> 00:08:47.710 could be. But I love that we can pray that the 00:08:47.710 --> 00:08:50.389 Holy Spirit would inspire creativity and he could 00:08:50.389 --> 00:08:52.330 actually help us understand scripture. So when 00:08:52.330 --> 00:08:57.309 I read John chapter 21, this is just a ridiculous 00:08:57.309 --> 00:09:00.950 story. The resurrection has happened and the 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:04.190 disciples don't run to the streets preaching. 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:07.049 They actually go and hide behind locked doors 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:08.570 because scripture tells us they were a little 00:09:08.570 --> 00:09:10.149 bit scared about what the people were going to 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:13.789 do to them. They were afraid of what might happen 00:09:13.789 --> 00:09:18.240 next. And then... Even after Jesus appears, remember 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.419 he comes and appears to them, and Pastor Pavel 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:22.039 talked about that last week. They're like, unless 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:24.440 I can put my hand in your side, put it in the 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.340 hole in you, I won't believe. So even after they've 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:32.720 touched his wounds, they still don't move. They 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.139 actually returned to what they knew. And what 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:40.149 they knew was fishing. So imagine the scene with 00:09:40.149 --> 00:09:42.110 me. The disciples are together. When they finally 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:44.190 decide, all right, let's get out of this house. 00:09:44.210 --> 00:09:46.029 It doesn't seem like anybody's trying to kill 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:49.730 us. Somebody says, let's just go back to doing 00:09:49.730 --> 00:09:53.289 what we were doing before. And isn't that the 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:55.909 case with humanity? When we're feeling disoriented, 00:09:56.049 --> 00:09:59.029 we usually return to the familiar. And so when 00:09:59.029 --> 00:10:01.529 we don't know what to do next, we just go back 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:04.379 to what it is that we know. And so the disciples 00:10:04.379 --> 00:10:07.600 were unsure of what was next. And so they went 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.860 back to fishing. And the Bible tells us that 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.139 they went back to fishing and they caught nothing 00:10:13.139 --> 00:10:18.720 all night long until Jesus showed up on the shore. 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:21.080 And this is where I think it's a bit of a comical 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.179 thing that takes place. My Bible says that Jesus 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:29.259 sees them fishing and he says to them, children, 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:34.590 do you have any fish? And I like, maybe Jesus 00:10:34.590 --> 00:10:36.970 is, I imagine Jesus is slightly more cheeky than 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:38.789 he actually was. Maybe it was a genuine question, 00:10:38.929 --> 00:10:40.769 but of course he knew the answer. He could see 00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:42.809 that they didn't have any fish. And the disciples 00:10:42.809 --> 00:10:44.870 we know from reading the text were frustrated 00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:47.250 that they had fished all night and had nothing. 00:10:47.450 --> 00:10:50.549 And what happens in this moment is Peter, who's 00:10:50.549 --> 00:10:52.629 kind of the crazy disciple who does these erratic 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:56.110 things, realizes who's on the shore. And the 00:10:56.110 --> 00:10:58.470 Bible tells us that he begins to take off his 00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:01.570 clothes and then he jumps into the water and 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:06.899 Swims to shore. Love that. As he's doing this, 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:09.299 Jesus says, cast your net on the other side. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.299 And so they cast the net on the other side of 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:13.019 the boat, like they needed instruction because 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.299 they are fishermen. And they probably already 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:17.639 done this, but he does it anyways because God's 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:19.799 the God of miracles. And they pull up this huge 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:22.220 catch. And by the time they get to shore, again, 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.220 I think this is just so cool, the relational 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:27.220 nature of God. Jesus is setting up a barbie. 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:31.799 He's having charcoal, setting up a barbecue to 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:34.639 eat breakfast with the disciples. The God of 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.960 the universe setting up a barbecue to talk with 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:43.220 the disciples. And so as he's cooking them breakfast, 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:48.299 he turns to Peter. And three times he asks him, 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.799 do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.460 And each time Peter answers and each time Jesus 00:11:53.460 --> 00:11:56.019 says, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. And then 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:59.330 he commands him to follow him. And that follow 00:11:59.330 --> 00:12:01.830 me was a familiar thing because if you remember 00:12:01.830 --> 00:12:04.570 when Jesus began his ministry, the first thing 00:12:04.570 --> 00:12:06.990 he said, he invited the disciples to a sleepover. 00:12:07.049 --> 00:12:09.169 John was baptizing people and they're like, whoa, 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:11.309 there's Jesus. And John says, you should go. 00:12:11.470 --> 00:12:13.309 And then as they went, Jesus said, come and follow 00:12:13.309 --> 00:12:14.909 me. They're like, where are you going? And he's 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:17.070 like, come and follow me. So here we are at the 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:20.870 climax of Jesus's life, death and resurrection. 00:12:21.129 --> 00:12:23.070 And he's saying the same thing to Peter again 00:12:23.070 --> 00:12:26.230 that he said, but this time. It wasn't an invitation 00:12:26.230 --> 00:12:31.429 to a road trip or to a friendship. This time 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:35.169 the invitation was to a mission. And he was calling 00:12:35.169 --> 00:12:37.710 Peter to move from a place of witnessing miracles 00:12:37.710 --> 00:12:42.490 to deeper surrender. He was calling Peter from 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:48.509 comfort to cost. And as we discovered that cost 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:53.149 meant even to death. And so this for Peter wasn't 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:57.289 just forgiveness. It was a recommissioning. It 00:12:57.289 --> 00:13:01.549 was a second follow me, but this time towards 00:13:01.549 --> 00:13:05.289 sacrifice and sending and ultimately towards 00:13:05.289 --> 00:13:12.029 martyrdom. And so the fishing boat was over and 00:13:12.029 --> 00:13:16.190 a global mission was just beginning. They were 00:13:16.190 --> 00:13:20.029 no longer fishermen. No, but they were becoming. 00:13:20.910 --> 00:13:25.029 And I think that they might have been a little 00:13:25.029 --> 00:13:32.830 bit scared. They were moving from people that 00:13:32.830 --> 00:13:37.970 had a job to being people with a destiny. And 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:41.990 I remember in my own life encountering a moment 00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:45.350 where I felt very similar. A bit fearful, a little 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:51.080 bit scared. I had finished college, university, 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.220 and I had felt like there was an opportunity 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:58.059 for me to move to East Africa, and a job opportunity 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:01.620 opened with an NGO, and I said yes to it, feeling 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:05.019 grossly unprepared, but the opportunity came, 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:07.559 and I felt like I needed to say yes. And then 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.240 another opportunity came to help lead a hospital 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:15.279 in South Sudan, and I felt deeply unqualified. 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:19.009 I had no medical background. I had no experience 00:14:19.009 --> 00:14:23.889 in managing emergencies in a war zone. I didn't 00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:25.909 know the systems. I didn't speak the language. 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:29.129 Quite frankly, I just felt like I'm not ready. 00:14:29.909 --> 00:14:32.370 But I felt like the Lord was saying in that moment, 00:14:32.470 --> 00:14:35.610 I'm not asking for your qualifications. I'm asking 00:14:35.610 --> 00:14:40.039 for obedience. And then it happened again. Months 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.500 after returning, there was an opportunity to 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.200 actually go back to this college and university 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:46.960 and take over as a director of this program. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.279 But I was 21 turning 22. I had got dreadlocks 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:56.240 when I was in East Africa. And I looked and smelled 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.019 a lot different than I do right now. And the 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:01.620 role had me teaching students who were older 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:03.559 than me because it wasn't just some first -year 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:05.860 program. Anybody could come into the program. 00:15:07.789 --> 00:15:11.309 And here again, I thought, man, they picked the 00:15:11.309 --> 00:15:17.009 wrong person. But again, God wasn't looking. 00:15:17.090 --> 00:15:20.250 He wasn't asking in that moment for my confidence. 00:15:20.909 --> 00:15:25.470 He was asking for my availability. He saw my 00:15:25.470 --> 00:15:29.009 fear, and then to my fear, he began to speak 00:15:29.009 --> 00:15:33.149 to my potential. And I think he did the same 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:37.009 with Peter. And I think he can do the same with 00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:41.889 you. And that's what Acts 1 is all about. Jesus 00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:45.990 sees their fear, but he begins to speak to their 00:15:45.990 --> 00:15:50.970 potential. And today, Jesus sees our fear, your 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:55.360 fear, and he speaks to your potential. So by 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:58.320 the time that we get to Acts chapter 1, we've 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:01.080 seen them on the shore in John 21. These men 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:03.740 are no longer, as I said, fishermen. They are 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:07.960 apostles with a destiny. And he didn't just forgive 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:11.860 their past, but he began to reframe their future. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.460 And he wasn't just giving them fish, he was awakening 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:20.799 them to a new calling. And so by this point, 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.580 the question probably isn't, do they believe 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:27.059 that Jesus is alive? No, because they'd seen 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:29.139 it. They'd heard it. They'd experienced it. The 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:31.980 question is, is will they still try to follow 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:36.120 him the same old way? And so when they ask the 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:38.600 question like, Lord, are you at this time going 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:41.240 to restore the kingdom of Israel? They still 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.919 expect Jesus to be the one who does the heavy 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.960 lifting. But Jesus doesn't just confirm their 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.820 small vision of Israel. Instead, he flips it 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:52.899 and he begins to give them a global mission of 00:16:52.899 --> 00:16:55.480 redemption. And he answers them and says, it's 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:59.360 not for you to know the times, but you will receive 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.659 power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.319 Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:11.779 In other words, he's saying, I'm not going to 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:15.130 do this for you. Sometimes I say to my kids, 00:17:15.250 --> 00:17:17.069 I'm not going to do this one for you. You can 00:17:17.069 --> 00:17:19.329 do it on your own. He's saying, I'm not going 00:17:19.329 --> 00:17:22.549 to do this for you. I'm going to do this through 00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:26.789 you. And so in that moment, the resurrected Savior 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:30.109 reframes their life. And I think this is so cool. 00:17:30.309 --> 00:17:34.009 This is the power of the risen Christ. He didn't 00:17:34.009 --> 00:17:36.109 give them a job. He was giving them a destiny. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.480 The apostles weren't handed these fancy job descriptions 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.019 or titles. They were handed a mission to make 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:49.180 Christ known among the nations. And so one by 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:54.980 one, they followed. And one by one, they gave 00:17:54.980 --> 00:18:00.059 their lives for that calling. Man, what an exciting 00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:03.829 and crazy start. And so he doesn't just forgive 00:18:03.829 --> 00:18:07.549 our past, but he begins to reframe our futures 00:18:07.549 --> 00:18:11.609 too. And once Jesus reframes your life, my life, 00:18:11.690 --> 00:18:18.349 we don't go back to fishing. As we look at this 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:20.809 story, as I was praying through and preparing 00:18:20.809 --> 00:18:23.130 and reading it again, I felt like I was getting 00:18:23.130 --> 00:18:25.849 this neat gift of opening up some sort of window 00:18:25.849 --> 00:18:29.480 into this movement of God. And if you think it 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.799 through, it starts on a beach, it passes through 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.680 this locked room, and then it echoes from the 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:38.400 mountaintop, and only in a way that God can do 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:41.019 it, he brings it right here to land in the heart 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:45.420 of Bangkok. And so I think, like, maybe this 00:18:45.420 --> 00:18:48.619 story isn't just about the disciples. Maybe it's 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:52.740 actually about you and me, too. Maybe you're 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:55.519 here today, and you're not quite sure what you 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.740 believe. Maybe you've come with questions or 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.319 you've come with curiosity or maybe you're watching 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:06.519 online and you're wondering if this Jesus is 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:11.940 real. If his story could possibly reshape yours. 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:17.819 What you need to hear today is Jesus didn't just 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:24.259 rise. He actually came looking for you. He met 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:27.970 the disciples on the beach. He met them in their 00:19:27.970 --> 00:19:30.849 fear, and he still shows up in the same way that 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:34.190 he did then, now, and here, right in the middle 00:19:34.190 --> 00:19:36.769 of our uncertainty, right in the middle of our 00:19:36.769 --> 00:19:39.250 disappointment, right in the middle of our doubts. 00:19:39.829 --> 00:19:44.009 The same Jesus, come on, the same Jesus that 00:19:44.009 --> 00:19:46.730 cooked breakfast for confused friends is the 00:19:46.730 --> 00:19:49.990 one who's calling out to you and I now saying, 00:19:50.130 --> 00:19:57.380 follow me. I've got more for you. And just like 00:19:57.380 --> 00:20:03.039 Peter, just like Peter, you might know him for 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:05.859 years, or for some of us, you might be meeting 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:09.940 him for the first time. He's not asking for perfection. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:16.619 He's inviting your presence. He wants you. And 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:21.740 it's so sweet. And just like Peter, it starts 00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:27.079 with love. he asks the question, do you love 00:20:27.079 --> 00:20:32.920 me? Do you love me? And that's always the first 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:36.619 question because once Jesus reframes your life, 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:41.359 you don't go back to fishing. So here we are. 00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:45.859 Acts... Chapter 1. Jesus appears for 40 days 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:48.900 and he's speaking about the kingdom and he tells 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:51.980 them to wait for the Holy Spirit. He says, you 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:55.619 will receive power. And he commissions, he makes 00:20:55.619 --> 00:21:00.259 a promise to them that you will be my witnesses. 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:05.420 Then he ascends and two angels appear and they 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:07.680 ask the question, why are you standing there 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.779 looking into the sky? And if you're like the 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:12.880 disciples or like me, I might be thinking the 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.019 same thing. Like, what's going on here? Like, 00:21:15.019 --> 00:21:19.390 where did Jesus go? Did he move into retirement, 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:22.470 like the boss leaves, succession plan initiated, 00:21:22.490 --> 00:21:25.670 and you're like, where did he go? But no, Jesus 00:21:25.670 --> 00:21:29.309 didn't disappear, he reigns. And if you don't 00:21:29.309 --> 00:21:32.089 grow up in a kingdom mindset with a king or a 00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:34.589 queen that's actively engaged in what it is that 00:21:34.589 --> 00:21:36.950 you're doing, like me, this doesn't make a whole 00:21:36.950 --> 00:21:40.029 lot of sense. But a king who reigns is actively 00:21:40.029 --> 00:21:43.289 engaged, participating with those that he or 00:21:43.289 --> 00:21:47.309 she leads. And so Jesus hasn't retired. He's 00:21:47.309 --> 00:21:50.970 seated at the right hand of God. He's got every 00:21:50.970 --> 00:21:54.730 power above every name. And he's handed this 00:21:54.730 --> 00:21:58.819 mission to us. Not because we're somehow flawless, 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:01.619 but I actually think he hands it to us because 00:22:01.619 --> 00:22:04.140 he's faithful and he promised that this is what 00:22:04.140 --> 00:22:06.839 would happen. So he doesn't just hand over the 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:09.140 reins and be like, have a good time, work it 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:11.339 out. He's like, no, I'm going to rule. I'm going 00:22:11.339 --> 00:22:14.039 to reign. I still have full authority. I have 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:16.680 full power. I'm seated at the right hand of God. 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:19.180 My ability to intervene at any moment is there, 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:21.240 but I'm going to work in and through you. I haven't 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:24.220 left you. I haven't forsaken you. I am reigning. 00:22:25.080 --> 00:22:28.779 And so this idea of the mission of God isn't 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:31.440 a new thing. It's actually quite old. It's been 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:36.640 happening for quite a long period of time. Jesus 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.799 says, you will be my witnesses. And so this is 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:43.619 not a strategy. It's a legacy. Do you hear me? 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:46.759 This you will be my witnesses is not a strategy. 00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:50.119 It's a legacy. For God has always been sending. 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:52.700 Next slide, please. He's always been sending. 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:55.279 From the book of Genesis, the very first book. 00:22:56.930 --> 00:23:00.170 Blessed to bless all nations. Through Isaiah, 00:23:00.410 --> 00:23:03.750 the prophet says, it is too small a thing to 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:06.809 restore Israel alone. God's plan was always for 00:23:06.809 --> 00:23:08.970 the entirety of the nations, not for one people 00:23:08.970 --> 00:23:11.269 group. And then as we move into John chapter 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:14.490 20, we see Jesus himself saying, just as the 00:23:14.490 --> 00:23:17.990 Father has sent me, I am sending you. And so 00:23:17.990 --> 00:23:21.809 this isn't something that is just thought up 00:23:21.809 --> 00:23:24.089 on that spot. Jesus is like, oh, I've got to 00:23:24.089 --> 00:23:26.769 come up with a good sending message. And so I'm 00:23:26.769 --> 00:23:28.789 just going to tell them something that sounds 00:23:28.789 --> 00:23:31.109 good and then leave them. No, it was planned. 00:23:31.829 --> 00:23:37.549 He knew what was required. And so this word for 00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:40.309 witness that comes out is this word. Can you 00:23:40.309 --> 00:23:44.569 read it with me? Say it out loud. Say it again. 00:23:44.829 --> 00:23:49.609 What does that sound like? Sounds like martyr. 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:53.789 And so the Greek word for witness is martis. 00:23:53.890 --> 00:23:57.609 And this is not just somebody who like talks, 00:23:57.990 --> 00:24:01.690 but this is somebody who lives and dies for the 00:24:01.690 --> 00:24:07.390 truth. And this is their calling. To be a witness 00:24:07.390 --> 00:24:11.470 who tells of, who speaks of the truth that they 00:24:11.470 --> 00:24:14.970 saw. And it's our call too. It's extended to 00:24:14.970 --> 00:24:19.380 us. And so, As we're thinking about this, Jesus 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:24.380 says, you will receive power. And the Holy Spirit 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:28.319 comes to empower us to live boldly, to speak 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:32.240 courageously, to heal miraculously, to love radically, 00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:35.779 to live righteously, to pray deeply, and to serve 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:40.700 faithfully. All for his glory. And so when he 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:44.960 says, you will receive power, the Holy Spirit... 00:24:45.890 --> 00:24:50.190 gives more than some emotion. He actually gives 00:24:50.190 --> 00:24:53.390 divine help, courage to stand like Peter did 00:24:53.390 --> 00:24:55.269 at Pentecost. I don't know what to do or stand. 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:59.740 Language when we don't know what to say. Guidance, 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:01.240 when we're like, I don't know where to move, 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:04.539 the Holy Spirit redirects Paul to the right place, 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.059 and he can do that for me. So someone saying 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:10.660 these things, this is not like Jesus standing 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:12.619 as a coach being like, you guys are going to 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:15.500 do great things, I really believe in you, you've 00:25:15.500 --> 00:25:18.759 practiced really, really hard, and I think you're 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.559 going to do great things. He's like, no, I believe 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:23.980 all of those things, but then I'm also going 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:26.579 to be working in and through you. I'm going to 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:28.259 empower you, I'm going to give you what it is 00:25:28.269 --> 00:25:30.869 is that you need to fulfill what it is that I'm 00:25:30.869 --> 00:25:33.150 saying you're going to do. And it's like, whoo, 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:36.170 the coach is coming with us. Like, he's in us, 00:25:36.170 --> 00:25:38.230 working through us, those skills. Jesus even 00:25:38.230 --> 00:25:41.990 said, I am going to send the Holy Spirit. I gotta 00:25:41.990 --> 00:25:44.130 go, and I gotta send the Holy Spirit. John chapter 00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:47.490 14, verse 12. So that you can do everything that 00:25:47.490 --> 00:25:53.670 I did and more. And so, this isn't hype. This 00:25:53.670 --> 00:25:58.170 is like real help. This is him promising you 00:25:58.170 --> 00:26:00.390 and giving you everything you need to do it, 00:26:00.410 --> 00:26:05.910 empowered by the Spirit. And this idea had a 00:26:05.910 --> 00:26:08.990 global scope, but it had a really cool local 00:26:08.990 --> 00:26:11.869 start to things. And so he talks about this Jerusalem, 00:26:12.269 --> 00:26:14.670 Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 00:26:14.809 --> 00:26:16.650 And though we talk about it being geography, 00:26:16.890 --> 00:26:19.710 yes, it is. It's also a bit of a roadmap for 00:26:19.710 --> 00:26:22.250 our own lives. Jerusalem, it's like your people, 00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:24.650 where are you? For me, I think of my apartment 00:26:24.650 --> 00:26:27.589 complex. Yesterday, we had, yeah, yesterday? 00:26:28.399 --> 00:26:31.140 Yesterday. Day before? We had the Easter party 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:33.519 at our condo on Saturday. Yeah, it was Saturday. 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:36.500 Yeah, I think it was Saturday. Yeah, we had Easter 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:38.500 on Saturday. I know it was a week ago, but we 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.900 had Easter at our condo yesterday because we 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:42.940 couldn't do it last the week before because we 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:44.680 had a bunch of people. So there was like 60 people 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:47.480 going on an Easter egg hunt and hearing the story 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:52.160 of Jesus yesterday. Why? Because it's my Jerusalem. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.720 That's my people. It's not like a location far 00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:58.980 away from me. It's right here. Judea, your region, 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:01.700 where are you? We're in Bangkok and we're in 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:04.059 our country that's here. Samaria, it's a place 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:05.700 of discomfort. What do you mean when you say 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:08.200 that? Well, Jewish people had a bit of a stigma 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.220 towards the Samaritans, so much so that if they 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:13.920 needed to go to a city that was beyond Samaria, 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:16.579 instead of just going through Samaria, they would 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:20.339 what? They would go around it. And so sometimes 00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:22.920 where God calls us to in this empowerment is 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:25.789 to a place of discomfort. But then there's also 00:27:25.789 --> 00:27:28.390 the ends of the earth, which is our beyond. And 00:27:28.390 --> 00:27:30.910 what's super cool is sometimes our ends of the 00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:33.170 earth is somebody's Jerusalem, and sometimes 00:27:33.170 --> 00:27:34.849 their Jerusalem is our ends of the earth, so 00:27:34.849 --> 00:27:37.750 it works together. But ECB is actually uniquely 00:27:37.750 --> 00:27:42.309 positioned for this very thing. We're gathered 00:27:42.309 --> 00:27:47.390 from many nations. We're 60? 50? Yeah, let's 00:27:47.390 --> 00:27:49.450 just say 30 in case someone says that's wrong. 00:27:49.589 --> 00:27:53.619 Over 30 nations. And what happens is ECBers don't 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:55.599 always stay here for a long period of time. They 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:58.200 go. So we're constantly sending people around 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:01.819 the world from the nations to the nations. And 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:04.480 so in this instance, what I love is that Jesus 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:06.740 isn't just saying, you're going to be teachers. 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:12.470 No. He said, you'll be my witnesses. And the 00:28:12.470 --> 00:28:14.849 apostles, they had seen him. So they could legitimately 00:28:14.849 --> 00:28:16.970 be like, yeah, yeah, I've seen, I've witnessed 00:28:16.970 --> 00:28:20.210 this, but we haven't seen him physically, but 00:28:20.210 --> 00:28:22.829 we've received the spirit. And as a result of 00:28:22.829 --> 00:28:24.710 that, we've experienced him spiritually. And 00:28:24.710 --> 00:28:27.150 because the disciples did such a fantastic job 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:30.309 witnessing, we read it all in here. And not only 00:28:30.309 --> 00:28:32.650 in these places, other non -Christian spaces, 00:28:32.910 --> 00:28:37.690 we see as a result of that, that Jesus is on 00:28:37.690 --> 00:28:41.450 the move. And what happens is sometimes when 00:28:41.450 --> 00:28:44.509 we give witness to things, people ask like, what's 00:28:44.509 --> 00:28:47.029 going on? And I love in Acts chapter four, the 00:28:47.029 --> 00:28:48.990 disciples are kind of being pulled aside by some 00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:50.829 people that are a little bit frustrated by what 00:28:50.829 --> 00:28:52.170 it is that they're doing. And they say like, 00:28:52.230 --> 00:28:55.650 listen, we can't help speaking about what it 00:28:55.650 --> 00:29:00.750 is that we've seen and heard. Witness. And so 00:29:00.750 --> 00:29:04.009 true witness actually flows from both this objective 00:29:04.009 --> 00:29:06.730 truth and subjective experience. And you're like, 00:29:06.789 --> 00:29:08.210 what do you mean objective truth and subjective 00:29:08.210 --> 00:29:11.130 experience? Let's unpack it for a moment. So 00:29:11.130 --> 00:29:14.650 consider this. Objective truth is truth that 00:29:14.650 --> 00:29:18.970 is true, regardless of how we feel about it. 00:29:19.009 --> 00:29:24.029 It's rooted in reality. And so Jesus, objective 00:29:24.029 --> 00:29:27.289 truth, in the gospel, Jesus lived objective truth. 00:29:28.670 --> 00:29:31.390 Died. Objective truth. He rose from the dead. 00:29:31.509 --> 00:29:34.609 Objective truth. And he offers salvation through 00:29:34.609 --> 00:29:38.809 him. Objective truth. These are facts of history. 00:29:39.029 --> 00:29:42.269 They're facts of faith. Track one. But then we've 00:29:42.269 --> 00:29:44.789 got subjective experience. And this is us here. 00:29:44.930 --> 00:29:48.910 It's how that truth becomes personal to us. This 00:29:48.910 --> 00:29:51.210 is our personal, it's our lived out encounter 00:29:51.210 --> 00:29:53.789 with the risen Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 00:29:53.890 --> 00:29:57.990 For example. Sometimes we feel forgiven when 00:29:57.990 --> 00:30:01.130 we were burdened by guilt. Subjective experience. 00:30:01.730 --> 00:30:04.930 Sometimes we experience peace that we can't explain 00:30:04.930 --> 00:30:06.750 during hard times. Scripture even talks about 00:30:06.750 --> 00:30:11.289 that. Subjective truth. Experience. Sensing God's 00:30:11.289 --> 00:30:14.250 guidance when we pray. Subjective experience. 00:30:15.369 --> 00:30:18.509 Seeing prayers answered in ways that we can't 00:30:18.509 --> 00:30:22.369 really explain. Subjective experience. And so 00:30:22.369 --> 00:30:25.910 if our witness was only truth, it feels a bit 00:30:25.910 --> 00:30:29.569 rigid. And if it's only experience, it's a bit 00:30:29.569 --> 00:30:32.069 rootless, and it's not grounded in anything. 00:30:32.390 --> 00:30:35.710 So we need to imagine that objective truth is 00:30:35.710 --> 00:30:39.369 kind of like a train track, and subjective experience 00:30:39.369 --> 00:30:42.650 is the train that's running on it. And so you 00:30:42.650 --> 00:30:47.579 need the tracks, the truth, or you derail. but 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:50.319 you also need movement and experience or you 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:54.500 stay stuck. But what happens when both of those 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:58.279 things come together is that we become a beacon 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:02.200 of living hope. When we witness to the world, 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:05.059 we don't just explain the nice facts about Jesus, 00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:08.380 he rose from the dead, but we also tell the story 00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:12.660 that he changed my life and he can change yours. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:17.880 So it's truth and transformation. It's knowing 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:23.359 and it's living and it's believing and becoming 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:27.079 or experiencing it. And so let's take this a 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:31.539 little bit further. Now, if Jesus were on trial, 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:35.140 imagine Jesus is in Bangkok. The police are like, 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:38.480 where's Jesus? We got to find him. Why? What 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:42.460 has Jesus done? Well, he's the master of saving. 00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:45.220 Some people are calling him the Lord of Life. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:48.180 Can we actually prove that? Is he transforming 00:31:48.180 --> 00:31:51.220 lives? Can we actually prove that? Is he forgiving? 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:56.299 Is he Redeemer? Is he bringing a holy world order 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:58.640 to where it is that he is? Would there be enough 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:01.859 evidence to convict him? If you flip back to 00:32:01.859 --> 00:32:04.299 the book of Acts, Acts is like the courtroom 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:08.079 transcript. That gives direct evidence of what 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:10.440 it is that people witness. And according to the 00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:13.009 book of Acts, One absolutely, Jesus would be 00:32:13.009 --> 00:32:17.410 convicted of that. And it tells the story right 00:32:17.410 --> 00:32:20.509 in here, and then it comes out to us of a movement 00:32:20.509 --> 00:32:24.750 that spread, which is good news for us, not through 00:32:24.750 --> 00:32:29.569 professionals, but through everyday people. Everyday 00:32:29.569 --> 00:32:33.490 people doing what? Everyday people being, everyday 00:32:33.490 --> 00:32:38.299 people doing, everyday people saying. Through 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:40.859 what they were, through what they did, through 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:44.819 what they said, they lived like Jesus. Grace 00:32:44.819 --> 00:32:46.660 flew out of them. They gave people what they 00:32:46.660 --> 00:32:49.180 didn't deserve. Sometimes they didn't give people 00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:51.720 what they probably deserved. They were generous, 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:54.380 ridiculous. They sold things that were theirs 00:32:54.380 --> 00:32:57.200 for the benefit of other people. They were healing 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:59.859 people, not just physically, but mentally and 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:02.880 restoring lives. They were evidencing incredible 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:06.660 hospitality. They were living simple lives and 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:09.660 their speech, how they talked was soaked in the 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:13.829 name of Jesus. And so like, Think about this. 00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:19.430 This isn't all like weird things giving witness 00:33:19.430 --> 00:33:22.410 to the person of Jesus. This is just like quite 00:33:22.410 --> 00:33:26.269 logically functional, nice human being things 00:33:26.269 --> 00:33:31.480 that God created us to be. Grace, generosity, 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:34.299 healing, hospitality, simplicity, speech soaked 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:37.160 in the name of what we were, what we did, what 00:33:37.160 --> 00:33:41.500 we say. And even a 19th century critical philosopher 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:45.220 and cultural critic, he says this. I love it. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:48.539 He says, I'll believe in your Redeemer when you 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:53.500 look a little more redeemed. And so when persecution 00:33:53.500 --> 00:33:57.240 hit the early church at this moment, the apostles 00:33:57.240 --> 00:34:02.700 stayed. People scattered, and the empire, the 00:34:02.700 --> 00:34:05.819 Roman empire, was changed. And why was it changed? 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:08.559 The empire was changed because scattered believers 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:14.460 lived as evidence. So would there be enough evidence? 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:20.500 Yes. Why? Because of you. But here's the thing. 00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:23.800 If you're anything like me, even in our own personal 00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:26.380 lives, this kind of witnessing doesn't always 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:31.460 feel logical, the promise doesn't even seem reasonable. 00:34:32.739 --> 00:34:36.679 And I rewind almost nine years ago now when my 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:39.340 wife Megan and I at the same time, two kids, 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:41.920 were feeling like God was calling us up and out 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:44.239 of Canada. But we didn't know where to or what 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:46.159 at that moment. We just knew he was calling us 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.679 out and we knew it was going to happen. And as 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:51.920 we began to say yes, my wife tells a story of 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:57.719 feeling absolutely overwhelmed with fear. It 00:34:57.719 --> 00:35:01.159 wasn't just like dreams of drowning. It was like 00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:04.099 she felt like when she walked through life and 00:35:04.099 --> 00:35:06.559 would give thought and consideration to a new 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:09.619 culture, a new language, a new country, she just 00:35:09.619 --> 00:35:13.400 felt like she was drowning and suffocating. And 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:16.460 then one day we're sitting in church and one 00:35:16.460 --> 00:35:19.099 of our friends is preaching and she shares this 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:20.980 image and says, I believe there's somebody that's 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:22.880 here who might need to hear this. And when people 00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:24.739 say that, sometimes I'm like, this is going to 00:35:24.739 --> 00:35:31.159 get crazy. She says, I have a vision of somebody 00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:33.239 who feels like they're drowning, overwhelmed 00:35:33.239 --> 00:35:36.280 by waves. But to you, God is just saying, stop 00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:40.860 swimming. Stop swimming. And you will see my 00:35:40.860 --> 00:35:44.519 hand holding you. And you will walk in my peace. 00:35:44.989 --> 00:35:47.750 And then one day, an older woman came up to her 00:35:47.750 --> 00:35:49.570 a few weeks later, a spiritual mentor, a bit 00:35:49.570 --> 00:35:52.469 of a saint, and she said, hey, I feel like God 00:35:52.469 --> 00:35:55.269 has given me some scripture for you. And same 00:35:55.269 --> 00:35:57.650 thing. Some of us have had experiences where 00:35:57.650 --> 00:35:59.389 that's been really good, and others of us had 00:35:59.389 --> 00:36:01.230 experiences where we're like, this is about to 00:36:01.230 --> 00:36:04.190 get crazy again. But this was a positive experience. 00:36:05.090 --> 00:36:09.670 And she begins to read. When you pass through 00:36:09.670 --> 00:36:13.480 the waters, I will be with you. The rivers will 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:19.639 not sweep over you. That moment brought peace. 00:36:20.380 --> 00:36:24.380 Not just for a year, but as long as the Lord 00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:28.670 has us here. And I think just like the disciples 00:36:28.670 --> 00:36:32.130 on the mountain, we realized that we weren't 00:36:32.130 --> 00:36:35.289 actually being sent out alone. God had actually 00:36:35.289 --> 00:36:37.929 already gone ahead of us. He was holding us. 00:36:37.969 --> 00:36:40.429 He was empowering us and inviting us to step 00:36:40.429 --> 00:36:43.449 into a story that was a whole lot bigger than 00:36:43.449 --> 00:36:50.269 our fears. And so Jesus didn't say, you will 00:36:50.269 --> 00:36:54.429 be my witnesses as a one -time moment. Say it, 00:36:54.489 --> 00:36:56.929 one -time moment. No, he didn't say it as a one 00:36:56.929 --> 00:36:59.690 -time moment. It became a blueprint for the whole 00:36:59.690 --> 00:37:02.750 of the book of Acts and for us. And what's crazy 00:37:02.750 --> 00:37:05.489 is if you take this, because I think I lied this 00:37:05.489 --> 00:37:09.650 morning, and I go all the way to the end to Acts 00:37:09.650 --> 00:37:11.829 chapter, how many chapters are in this book? 00:37:13.110 --> 00:37:19.019 27, 28. You head to the 28th chapter, and you 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:22.539 read about this guy who was proclaiming the gospel, 00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:27.880 and then it just kind of stops. Paul's in Rome, 00:37:28.099 --> 00:37:32.900 and then what? There's no happily ever after. 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:37.360 There's no climactic ending. Nobody all of a 00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:40.599 sudden dies. There's no trial, martyrdom, no 00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:45.340 closure. It stops mid -sentence. The feeling 00:37:45.340 --> 00:37:48.900 is like that. And some have suggested that perhaps 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:52.199 this is God and his creativity. Maybe, I don't 00:37:52.199 --> 00:37:56.000 know. But God and his creativity is doing this 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.599 because the movement actually hasn't stopped. 00:37:59.699 --> 00:38:02.639 Sometimes people say, you're Acts 29. We're living 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:05.139 it. Acts 29, the next chapter is us. It's our 00:38:05.139 --> 00:38:07.559 lives. We're doing it right now. And so consider 00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:10.980 this. This is the task. People, who are supposed 00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:16.019 to fulfill the tasks? You, me. The power? Spirit? 00:38:16.619 --> 00:38:19.179 The plan? Where does that come from? Well, he 00:38:19.179 --> 00:38:21.380 laid it out. Start in Jerusalem. Go outward. 00:38:21.579 --> 00:38:23.380 What about the philosophy? How are we going to 00:38:23.380 --> 00:38:27.239 do this? Say what you've seen. Witness. And that 00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:30.500 final chapter, that final chapter, it's still 00:38:30.500 --> 00:38:33.619 being written. It's still being written. And 00:38:33.619 --> 00:38:36.900 you're in it. And I'm in it. And ECB is in it. 00:38:36.940 --> 00:38:40.000 And that same spirit is still sending. That same 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:42.480 spirit is still empowering. That same spirit 00:38:42.480 --> 00:38:46.530 is still... It's still promising that you will 00:38:46.530 --> 00:38:50.929 be my witnesses. Friends, we're living Acts 29. 00:38:52.389 --> 00:38:55.969 And so the disciples stood. There's like this 00:38:55.969 --> 00:39:00.070 U2 song. I'm not the only one staring at the 00:39:00.070 --> 00:39:04.909 sun. Does anyone know that song? The disciples 00:39:04.909 --> 00:39:10.380 stood there staring at the sky. And all of a 00:39:10.380 --> 00:39:12.940 sudden the angels appear to them and they say, 00:39:13.059 --> 00:39:21.139 stop staring, start going or being. And so I 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:25.039 wonder for some of us, maybe we're in our kind 00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:27.940 of Mount of Olives moment. And you're like, what 00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:30.139 do you mean your Mount of Olives moment? Well, 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:33.860 maybe you're unsure. Maybe you're a bit afraid. 00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:37.579 Maybe you feel, I am not quite ready yet. But 00:39:37.579 --> 00:39:41.099 the cool thing is, is that Jesus sees your fear. 00:39:41.239 --> 00:39:44.820 He sees my fear, and he speaks to our potential 00:39:44.820 --> 00:39:48.719 in that. He says that you don't have to be fully 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:56.280 ready. Just be fully available. Do you see what's 00:39:56.280 --> 00:40:02.099 going on? Before we respond, I want you to hear 00:40:02.099 --> 00:40:07.309 this very clearly. What Jesus gives them here, 00:40:07.510 --> 00:40:09.889 or there, depending upon the way you say it, 00:40:09.929 --> 00:40:13.730 it's not a command. It's actually a promise. 00:40:14.510 --> 00:40:18.489 He doesn't say, go and be my witnesses and just 00:40:18.489 --> 00:40:26.630 try really hard. No. He says, wait, and you will 00:40:26.630 --> 00:40:34.010 receive power. Wait, and you will receive power. 00:40:34.829 --> 00:40:38.690 And so being his witness isn't first an assignment. 00:40:39.769 --> 00:40:43.590 It's the result of an encounter. Let me say that 00:40:43.590 --> 00:40:47.690 again. Being his witness isn't first an assignment. 00:40:48.210 --> 00:40:52.909 It's the result of an encounter. It's not about 00:40:52.909 --> 00:40:57.170 you trying to muster up boldness. It's not about 00:40:57.170 --> 00:41:00.289 you trying to figure it out on your own. It's 00:41:00.289 --> 00:41:04.170 actually about the Spirit making you bold. You 00:41:04.170 --> 00:41:06.650 hear that? It's not about you trying to muster 00:41:06.650 --> 00:41:08.929 up boldness. It's about the Spirit making you 00:41:08.929 --> 00:41:12.690 bold. It's not about you forcing yourself to 00:41:12.690 --> 00:41:14.630 care. It's actually about the Spirit filling 00:41:14.630 --> 00:41:18.670 you, filling you with love that overflows. And 00:41:18.670 --> 00:41:23.429 so the Great Commission sends us, but this promise 00:41:23.429 --> 00:41:30.650 empowers us. You will receive power. And because 00:41:30.650 --> 00:41:37.250 of that, you will be my witnesses. And so maybe 00:41:37.250 --> 00:41:41.449 today isn't just about being sent. Maybe today 00:41:41.449 --> 00:41:43.630 is the day that some of us, some of you need 00:41:43.630 --> 00:41:46.650 to say yes to Jesus for the first time. Whether 00:41:46.650 --> 00:41:49.429 you're in person, whether you're online, this 00:41:49.429 --> 00:41:54.340 invitation is for you. Jesus... doesn't wait 00:41:54.340 --> 00:41:58.280 for you to have it all together. Thank God. He 00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:01.380 meets us in our questions. He meets you in your 00:42:01.380 --> 00:42:05.099 questions. And so today, if you feel him stirring, 00:42:05.380 --> 00:42:10.800 pray simply, Jesus, if you're real, make yourself 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:18.030 real to me and watch what he will do. And so 00:42:18.030 --> 00:42:20.909 this month, I stepped into a new role here at 00:42:20.909 --> 00:42:24.409 ECB as a director part -time interim of mobilization. 00:42:25.110 --> 00:42:28.869 But I believe that God is doing something more 00:42:28.869 --> 00:42:32.909 than me. I think that he's actually mobilizing 00:42:32.909 --> 00:42:38.349 us. And so I wonder if you'd be willing to see 00:42:38.349 --> 00:42:41.250 your workplace, your muban, your school, your 00:42:41.250 --> 00:42:45.110 friendships, your family become the place that 00:42:45.110 --> 00:42:50.760 Jesus is. is seen, where people see Jesus in 00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:57.940 you. So I have a question. Will you say yes? 00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:08.039 Let's pray. Lord, I thank you that you trust 00:43:08.039 --> 00:43:13.119 us with your mission. That you see our fear and 00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:15.480 all the baggage and things that we bring with 00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:18.039 it, but you also see our potential. You see the 00:43:18.039 --> 00:43:21.920 possibility. You see what is possible. And so, 00:43:21.960 --> 00:43:25.219 Holy Spirit, I pray that you would breathe your 00:43:25.219 --> 00:43:29.389 Spirit into us again. Just as we prayed in the 00:43:29.389 --> 00:43:31.789 first service, we pray again, send us into our 00:43:31.789 --> 00:43:34.869 city, into our circles, into our world, to our 00:43:34.869 --> 00:43:38.570 friends, to our family, Lord, carrying your living 00:43:38.570 --> 00:43:42.449 hope with your promise that you gave to us to 00:43:42.449 --> 00:43:54.570 be the witness. In your name we pray. Amen. Thank 00:43:54.570 --> 00:43:57.489 you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. 00:43:58.130 --> 00:44:01.829 Whether near or far, if you are looking for community 00:44:01.829 --> 00:44:05.710 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:44:05.710 --> 00:44:12.769 by sending us an email to If God is calling you 00:44:12.769 --> 00:44:15.489 to support our ministries, you will find giving 00:44:15.489 --> 00:44:19.309 options on our website. And remember to join 00:44:19.309 --> 00:44:21.369 us next week. God bless you.