1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,900 Well, it is going to be a marvelous evening and I hope that you'll be back tonight at 2 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:14,200 six o'clock. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:22,100 I'm going to wait until they disappear to say to you that sometimes I've been a little 4 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:28,180 disappointed in the support that our congregation has given to our ministry of music. 5 00:00:28,180 --> 00:00:33,000 I look back at some of the special times we've had like a Christmas time and frankly the 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,320 congregation wasn't here. 7 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:38,120 If it hadn't been for a lot of guests, it would really have been embarrassing. 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,360 I hope tonight that you will plan to be here as part of the Grace congregation. 9 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:48,040 And if you've got other plans, you'll cancel them or somehow fold them in so that you can 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,120 come and be present. 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,040 Let's show these folks who have dedicated a great deal to add so much to our worship 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,840 service each week how much we appreciate what they do. 13 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,840 And together we'll praise the Lord too. 14 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:02,840 Thank you. 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:08,160 Let me ask you a personal question. 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:15,920 If something happened to you, who would do your work? 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:24,440 Who would finish up all of those projects that you have lying around the house? 18 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,920 I thought about this a few years ago when my mother died. 19 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:38,040 When I walked into the house, there was the chair that she sat in until just the day before. 20 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:45,020 And around the chair were several projects that she had been working on with her needlework, 21 00:01:45,020 --> 00:01:51,560 but her hands would never finish them. 22 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,560 And later when I looked in the refrigerator, I saw food that she had bought in order to 23 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:01,760 prepare for her husband and her family. 24 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,320 The food that she would never again touch. 25 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:12,280 Someone else would need to fix that food for others to eat. 26 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:17,400 I looked at her garden, a garden that she had planted that spring, a garden that she 27 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,200 had labored over and watered and taken care of. 28 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:25,820 And now in the time when she should be harvesting the fruit of that garden, someone else would 29 00:02:25,820 --> 00:02:34,200 have to pick those beans and tomatoes and melons because she wasn't going to work there 30 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:39,160 anymore. 31 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:50,080 If you left this week unexpectedly, who would finish your work for you? 32 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,800 Our text today records the time that Jesus left. 33 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,600 It was not an unexpected leaving. 34 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:03,520 It was a time that he knew was coming and he prepared for it. 35 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,560 Let's read about it in Acts chapter 1. 36 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:13,920 We're going to see that Jesus made preparation for his work to continue. 37 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:19,560 I begin reading in verse 1 of Acts 1. 38 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:28,760 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach. 39 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:34,120 Luke is here acknowledging that he has written another narrative, another letter, another 40 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:40,840 document of history that of course is the book we call the Gospel of Luke in the New 41 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,480 Testament. 42 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,400 And he says, Theophilus, this is the gentleman to whom he was addressing both of these works 43 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,100 of history. 44 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:56,600 He says, in the first one I told you about those things that Jesus began to do and to 45 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,560 teach. 46 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:06,600 Until the day when he was taken up, after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to 47 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,980 the apostles whom he had chosen. 48 00:04:10,980 --> 00:04:19,640 To these he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing 49 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:27,680 to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God, 50 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:34,320 and gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for 51 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:40,680 that which the Father had promised, which he said, you have heard of me. 52 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:45,840 For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many 53 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:48,780 days from now. 54 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:54,560 And so when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it this time 55 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,120 you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? 56 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:04,560 He said to them, it is not for you to know times or epochs, which the Father has fixed 57 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,000 by his own authority. 58 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,880 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be 59 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:18,820 my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest 60 00:05:18,820 --> 00:05:19,880 part of the earth. 61 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:26,440 And after he had said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and 62 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,360 a cloud received him out of their sight. 63 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:36,960 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was departing, behold, two men 64 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,000 in white clothing stood beside them. 65 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:47,020 And they said also, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? 66 00:05:47,020 --> 00:05:53,600 This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way 67 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:59,200 as you have watched him go into heaven. 68 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:05,000 For 40 days after Jesus' resurrection, he demonstrated with convincing proofs the fact 69 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,060 that he was alive. 70 00:06:08,060 --> 00:06:17,320 He taught his followers more about the kingdom of God, and then he left. 71 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,040 Then he returned to heaven. 72 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:30,120 However, he did not leave his work behind unattended to. 73 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:36,440 He left it in the hands of his followers, and indeed, it makes it clear in the Bible 74 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:45,020 that he only continued to do his work even though he was gone. 75 00:06:45,020 --> 00:06:51,260 He continued to do his work through them, though he was in heaven. 76 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:59,600 He left because that was the best way for him to accomplish his unfinished work. 77 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:05,000 Now remember that the work of Jesus for our salvation was finished at the cross. 78 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,160 No completion is needed to that. 79 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,140 Nothing ever needs to be added. 80 00:07:10,140 --> 00:07:14,240 When he said it is finished, he meant it. 81 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,520 The blood that had been shed on the cross of Calvary was sufficient for the sins of 82 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,240 all for all time. 83 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,800 Once and for all, the price was paid. 84 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,360 The finished work of Christ. 85 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,800 But there is still today the unfinished work of Christ. 86 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:38,380 That is the work that he has left behind for us to do. 87 00:07:38,380 --> 00:07:46,460 The risen King continues yet today in 1995 his work. 88 00:07:46,460 --> 00:07:53,040 He continues it through his followers, we who are the spiritual descendants of those 89 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:57,700 that are spoken of in Acts chapter 1. 90 00:07:57,700 --> 00:08:06,080 And when Jesus left, he left us all that we need to continue the work that he began. 91 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:15,520 I want you to notice in our text that he left us a power to appropriate, a program to emulate, 92 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,600 and a promise to motivate. 93 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,320 Let's talk about the power that he gave us to appropriate. 94 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:29,400 Jesus had already spoken to his followers about the promise of the Father. 95 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:35,280 This is the promise that he mentions again in verse 4. 96 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:41,600 Jesus had told them on the night before he was crucified that he would send another comforter 97 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:48,240 to them, one just like himself, who would help them, who would teach them, who would 98 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,620 be with them always. 99 00:08:51,620 --> 00:08:56,680 That was the promise of the Holy Spirit. 100 00:08:56,680 --> 00:09:09,000 And he told these followers to wait in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of that promise. 101 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:16,960 Most of us would rather God say anything to us than wait. 102 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:18,120 We're action people. 103 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,560 We want to get on with it. 104 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:22,960 We've got a job to do. 105 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,160 Let's do it. 106 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:32,000 But Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. 107 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,280 Now there was a reason for that. 108 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,640 Our God is a God of order. 109 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,280 Everything that God does makes perfect sense. 110 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:51,580 The only problem is that we don't have the same sense that God does. 111 00:09:51,580 --> 00:09:54,080 He told them to wait. 112 00:09:54,080 --> 00:10:00,960 And we understand now why, because God wanted the Holy Spirit to come on the day of Pentecost. 113 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:09,160 That's what that Old Testament feast had been predicting and signifying all those years. 114 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,260 And so Jesus said, wait in Jerusalem. 115 00:10:13,260 --> 00:10:18,240 And ten days later, the Spirit of God came. 116 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:26,440 M.H. Lout said, God's best gifts come slowly. 117 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:32,560 We're in a hurry to get God's gifts, aren't we? 118 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:37,720 We sense genuinely our need for those gifts. 119 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,360 And we want them so we can put them into use. 120 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,520 We want the crisis to be over. 121 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,040 We want the need to be met. 122 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,680 We want it now. 123 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,720 That's truly American, isn't it? 124 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,960 I want what I want and I want it now. 125 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:03,400 But God's best gifts come slowly. 126 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:08,600 God is as much concerned about our character as he is about the gift that he wants to give 127 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:09,980 us. 128 00:11:09,980 --> 00:11:15,500 The blessing that he wants to impart to us. 129 00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:20,840 And so there are times that we wait. 130 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:28,900 I think of Paul, who in the very pinnacle of his ministry was put into prison for two 131 00:11:28,900 --> 00:11:34,140 years and waited. 132 00:11:34,140 --> 00:11:37,800 How much he could have done in two years of time. 133 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:43,560 How many more miles he could have put on that worn out body of his. 134 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:48,120 Why he could have gone places that he never got in his lifetime if he had only had that 135 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,560 two years. 136 00:11:51,560 --> 00:12:00,920 But God allowed Paul to wait two years in a prison cell in Caesarea. 137 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,120 And then he went to Rome. 138 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:10,480 And I think of Moses. 139 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:15,880 Moses understood early that he was to be the one who would deliver God's people. 140 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,160 And he found a way to do it. 141 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:22,520 Except it wasn't God's way and so he waited. 142 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:27,000 Not only the 40 years of his young manhood, but the 40 years of his middle age. 143 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,840 I like to think of 80 as middle age anymore. 144 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:35,160 He waited in Midian, took care of sheep. 145 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:41,780 He waited and waited and waited year after year after year until he figured it was too 146 00:12:41,780 --> 00:12:45,260 late or he had misunderstood God's will or he wasn't qualified. 147 00:12:45,260 --> 00:12:50,560 Something had happened but he wasn't going to be the one now. 148 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:58,520 And then God lit that bush on fire and called Moses to do his work. 149 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,960 And think of Jesus. 150 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:08,480 Why didn't he begin his public ministry at 13? 151 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:17,000 At 12 he could confound the doctors of theology in Jerusalem. 152 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,120 He knew more than they did about God. 153 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,160 Why didn't he begin a teenage ministry? 154 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:28,320 After all there are churches that ordain young men to ministry at 16 years of age. 155 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,280 In Southern Baptist. 156 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,040 Or at least at 20 or 21. 157 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,920 Why didn't Jesus begin then? 158 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:37,720 How many more lives he could have touched? 159 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:43,640 How many more miracles he could have done? 160 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:51,640 But God's purpose was for him to wait until he was 30. 161 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,520 We get in a big hurry with God. 162 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,740 God told these disciples, now you wait in Jerusalem. 163 00:13:59,740 --> 00:14:01,440 You wait for the promise of the Father. 164 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:06,740 And the reason was that they needed to be empowered for the work that God wanted them 165 00:14:06,740 --> 00:14:09,560 to do. 166 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:16,760 God gave them a power to appropriate when the Spirit of the Lord came. 167 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:23,800 And I tell you what an amazing sight and sound and miracle show that was when the Spirit 168 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,280 of God came. 169 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:31,000 They had the sound of the rushing wind, which is what reminded me of the introduction of 170 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:37,520 this offering, the wind blowing. 171 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:43,800 And the fire that was over the heads of the disciples. 172 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:48,440 And the tongues that they were able to speak in, the languages of all those people gathered 173 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,280 there at the temple for the feast of Pentecost. 174 00:14:52,280 --> 00:15:00,360 What an amazing display God put on the day of Pentecost. 175 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,800 God gave them power. 176 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,760 It was the power that they needed to fulfill the work that Jesus was leaving behind for 177 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:12,560 them to do. 178 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,260 How do we tap into that power? 179 00:15:15,260 --> 00:15:18,540 The answer is by faith. 180 00:15:18,540 --> 00:15:24,720 I think Paul gives us a key verse in Colossians 2 when he says, as you therefore have received 181 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:31,200 Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. 182 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:39,400 In other words, as we have received Him by faith into our lives, so now we are to walk, 183 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:44,000 to conduct ourselves by faith. 184 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:50,040 In other words, you and I have resident within us, the Holy Spirit. 185 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:56,200 Our need now is to tap into that power. 186 00:15:56,200 --> 00:16:03,360 George Duncan once went to visit some friends in the English countryside. 187 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:11,800 For many years these friends had lived in an old, run-down English farmhouse. 188 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:16,520 To Duncan's surprise, he discovered that the house had been completely remodeled when 189 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:18,380 he went there. 190 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:26,640 The people had installed new lights, an electric stove, and many other pieces of modern equipment. 191 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:31,600 But even he was surprised to see that the lady of the house was still using a kerosene 192 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:40,280 stove for cooking, and she had lit oil lamps for light in the house. 193 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:45,200 He inquired about this, and she said, well George, don't look so confused. 194 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:51,720 We've had a great change here, but we haven't turned on the power yet. 195 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:56,120 A lot of Christians are living just that way. 196 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:03,400 There's been a tremendous change, a radical change, because Jesus Christ has come into 197 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:11,520 the life, but somehow the power hasn't been turned on yet. 198 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:18,840 I think the easiest concept to use to illustrate how that power is turned on is the concept 199 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,400 of spiritual breathing. 200 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,000 It's nothing new, it's old. 201 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,320 I heard it many, many years ago. 202 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:33,440 But in order to experience the release of the power that is within us, we need to breathe 203 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,680 spiritually. 204 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:45,200 That means to first exhale, to get rid of the sin in our lives by confessing them to 205 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,280 God. 206 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:55,860 And then we need to inhale, which means to ask the Holy Spirit to take charge again in 207 00:17:55,860 --> 00:18:00,680 our lives and yield ourselves to Him. 208 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:06,600 If you will keep that simple concept in your mind and learn to practice it in your life, 209 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:12,400 it will release the power of God in new ways in you. 210 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:22,120 Spiritual breathing, exhaling, then reappropriating, inhaling. 211 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:26,960 Jesus Christ has left to us all that we need that we might continue His work. 212 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:33,480 It begins with the power that He has left us in the Holy Spirit to appropriate for our 213 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,120 lives. 214 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:42,720 As we have received Christ Jesus, so now let's walk in Him and understand that when we sin, 215 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,180 it cuts off the power. 216 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:50,980 And as long as that sin is there unconfessed, the power is going to be off. 217 00:18:50,980 --> 00:18:57,880 But if we'll just exhale, confess the sin, and then inhale by appropriating by faith 218 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:05,080 the Holy Spirit, and then trust that the Holy Spirit is filling us and controlling us, we'll 219 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,840 walk in newness of power and do Jesus' work for us. 220 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:15,260 Secondly, He gave us a program to emulate. 221 00:19:15,260 --> 00:19:17,200 His followers were given a strategy. 222 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:26,080 He said to them, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. 223 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,600 There's a strategy there that is geographical. 224 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,000 But it's also cultural. 225 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,800 We have to understand that or we miss it. 226 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:40,360 Jerusalem and Judea were safe. 227 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:42,040 See that was Jewish territory. 228 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:49,440 But when you get into Samaria, you're in trouble because those are half-breeds up there. 229 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:54,680 Those Samaritans are the descendants of Jews and Assyrians. 230 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,080 They're no good. 231 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,180 They're on the other side of the track. 232 00:20:01,180 --> 00:20:05,820 But you have to admit that at least the Samaritans are half-Jewish. 233 00:20:05,820 --> 00:20:10,800 You get beyond Samaria and you get into the uttermost parts of the earth where the dogs 234 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:17,640 live, the Gentiles. 235 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:24,240 The strategy that Jesus gave them involved not only geography, it involved culture. 236 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:29,740 And what He is saying is if we're going to do His work, we have to be willing to pierce 237 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:37,280 through our cultural prejudices to reach other people. 238 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:44,920 Even those people that we in our humanness may think less of. 239 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,280 We're to acknowledge that that is wrong and to love them for Jesus' sake. 240 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,680 The disciples were reluctant to do this. 241 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:59,120 Finally the Lord had to bring persecution on them in Jerusalem to kick them out into 242 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:00,120 Samaria. 243 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:04,680 Read about it in Acts chapter 8. 244 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:10,800 And then the Lord had to send a vision to Peter so that he would go to Cornelius who 245 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:17,060 was a God-fearing Gentile. 246 00:21:17,060 --> 00:21:18,060 And he did. 247 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:23,880 He went to Cornelius and Cornelius became the first Gentile to trust the Lord Jesus 248 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:29,600 Christ. 249 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,360 Beginning in Acts chapter 11 you have the Gospel then going to the uttermost parts of 250 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:34,360 the earth. 251 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:40,080 He fulfilled the strategy even though God had to put pressure on them to do it. 252 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:44,400 He does the same thing to us. 253 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,120 Because we too are reluctant to go beyond our comfort zones. 254 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:56,800 We are reluctant to go beyond those barriers that we set up in our culture. 255 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:03,680 And so God does what is necessary to kick us beyond those barriers, those zones, to 256 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:13,120 reach the people that he loves who are out there in the uttermost parts of the earth. 257 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:17,000 We have a program to emulate that God gave us. 258 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,520 This program has a purpose to it. 259 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:31,680 The reaching of the Gentiles became so successful and so controversial that a great church council 260 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:37,680 was called in Jerusalem to settle the issue. 261 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:44,560 The Jews were very concerned, the Jewish believers, the Jewish Christians were very concerned 262 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:51,080 in Jerusalem that Gentiles were being added to the church who hadn't first undergone 263 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:55,700 Jewish rituals. 264 00:22:55,700 --> 00:23:01,120 And so they began to send out teachers from Jerusalem who said you have to be circumcised 265 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:08,160 before you can be a Christian and be a part of the church. 266 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:14,880 Paul was so alarmed by this and others were so alarmed by it that there was this council 267 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:20,800 called in Jerusalem, read about it in Acts 15. 268 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:27,640 Barnabas and Paul and others went down to up to Jerusalem from Antioch which was their 269 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,640 headquarters. 270 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:34,320 Antioch and Syria, Gentile territory. 271 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,880 And they made their way from Antioch down through Phoenicia and Samaria and then to 272 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:39,880 Jerusalem. 273 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:49,160 They had a great conversation about this. 274 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:54,560 And Peter made some comments about what happened with Cornelius. 275 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:59,340 And Barnabas and Paul began to share what had happened on their missionary journey up 276 00:23:59,340 --> 00:24:03,080 into Asia Minor. 277 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:10,120 And then James who was the chairman of the board in Jerusalem who was the head elder 278 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:14,240 spoke up and settled the whole issue. 279 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:21,640 And he said to his Jewish brothers there gathered, in essence he said this, what we're doing 280 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,200 is wrong. 281 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:29,320 Let's only cause the Gentiles to do the minimal, what is necessary that may not cause a stun 282 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,560 or stumbling block to the Jews. 283 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,520 But let's not put upon them the law of Moses. 284 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,560 And he said God is about this purpose in the world. 285 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:47,360 He is taking out a people for his name. 286 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:49,960 I love that statement. 287 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:54,720 Because in that one statement James sums it up. 288 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,580 He tells us what Jesus' work is in this age. 289 00:24:58,580 --> 00:25:06,560 He is out there taking out a people for his namesake. 290 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,480 That's the work that he's called you and me to participate in. 291 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:16,160 To share the gospel in such a way that people who are now outside of the family of God, 292 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:24,040 who are not part of God's work, will hear the gospel and be led to believe it. 293 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,000 And then be called out by God from the world. 294 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:36,400 Called out to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ. 295 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:44,120 That is the work that he has called you and me to be a part of. 296 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:53,720 I remember one time having a bit of food at a picnic in the outside and there were some 297 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,760 ants around the picnic table. 298 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:04,320 And so I dropped some food just to see what the ants would do. 299 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:09,000 And of course they came to the food and took off little bits and pieces of it, just a few 300 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,280 of them, and they carried it away and I lost track of them. 301 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:19,240 But it wasn't too long before I looked again at that piece of food and there was a whole 302 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:26,500 stream of ants who had come to carry it away to their nest. 303 00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:29,520 What had happened? 304 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:36,280 Those ants who had been out scavenging for food found some. 305 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,000 They did not eat it all themselves. 306 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:45,080 They took pieces of it back to their nest, leaving a trail along the way, a chemical 307 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:50,800 trail, so that the other ants in the nest would know that they had found food and can 308 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,080 follow the trail back to where the food was. 309 00:26:54,080 --> 00:27:01,080 I want to submit to you that that is your job in mind. 310 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:07,620 We are to leave a trail for others to follow to find Jesus Christ. 311 00:27:07,620 --> 00:27:15,320 And by the sweetness of our lives, by the change and the transformation in us, we are 312 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:20,040 to attract others to come to Him. 313 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:26,880 When Jesus left and went back to heaven, He left to His followers a power to appropriate 314 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,840 and a program to emulate. 315 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,840 But He also left a promise to motivate. 316 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:41,000 Jesus continues His work today as He was then working through His followers. 317 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,600 But one day that work will be done. 318 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:49,380 One day the church will be complete. 319 00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:57,640 This body of believers that God is calling out for His Son in this age, composed of Gentile 320 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:04,380 and Jew, this body of believers that we call the church will be completed. 321 00:28:04,380 --> 00:28:10,280 There is an elect number to the church. 322 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:17,920 And once that number has been fulfilled, once that last person has trusted Jesus Christ 323 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:29,400 as Savior, you can expect the rapture to take place momentarily. 324 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:37,480 Jesus disappeared into heaven and the angels in white garb appeared. 325 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:43,520 I think what happened on that day was that Jesus was lifted up from the ground. 326 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,200 He ascended. 327 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:54,520 And the Lord just pulled back the curtains to the heavenly dimension, which in my opinion 328 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,940 is all around us. 329 00:28:57,940 --> 00:29:04,960 He just pulled back the curtains and Jesus went back and the curtains shut. 330 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:11,960 And then two angels stepped out on the platform as it were and they said, fellas, you guys 331 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:16,440 from Galilee, why are you standing here? 332 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,080 This same Jesus is going to come again. 333 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,560 You see, they needed a promise to motivate them. 334 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,440 And that promise was that Jesus was coming back. 335 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:34,920 That they needn't stand there and grieve that He was no longer with them. 336 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:40,000 Nor should they stand there wondering what had happened and trying to figure this out 337 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,920 where Jesus had gone. 338 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,600 They said, don't worry about that, fellas. 339 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:52,740 He's coming back again just like you saw Him go away. 340 00:29:52,740 --> 00:29:54,480 That promise is still valid today. 341 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,720 Jesus is coming again. 342 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,920 One day He is going to step back through that curtain in the heavens and when He does, He 343 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:09,400 is going to call out to Himself the church in what we call the rapture, the catching 344 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,960 away of the church. 345 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,360 And that will happen. 346 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:21,080 I can assure you that will happen when the last person who is numbered to be a part of 347 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:28,280 the church is saved. 348 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:34,120 Don't you wish you knew what that number was and who it was? 349 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,680 Why we would head straight for that person. 350 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:41,120 We make all haste to find that address and go to that door and knock on the door and 351 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,320 say, hey, I've got news for you. 352 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,000 But that isn't what the Lord has done. 353 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,880 He hasn't told us that number. 354 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,240 He hasn't given us that name. 355 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,680 Because He wants us just to keep spreading the word to everybody. 356 00:30:55,680 --> 00:31:00,760 He knows who the last one is. 357 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:05,920 And the motivation is that as you and I do Jesus' work, as we witness, as we carry the 358 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:11,680 Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, as we're doing His work, His work is one 359 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,680 day going to be finished and Jesus is going to come back. 360 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,040 And we'll be with the Lord. 361 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,480 What a motivation. 362 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,880 What a promise God has given to us. 363 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,340 Sooner or later, He will come. 364 00:31:27,340 --> 00:31:35,000 The sooner we finish His work, the sooner He will come. 365 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,760 Are you watching? 366 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:45,280 Are you waiting for the Savior? 367 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,400 Donald Barnhouse is a great Bible teacher of another generation, home with the Lord 368 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:54,080 now, I suppose 30 some years. 369 00:31:54,080 --> 00:32:00,520 Barnhouse told about a Scottish sailing vessel that was returning home after many days at 370 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,520 sea. 371 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:13,360 As they got closer to the shore, the sailors got on deck and gazed eagerly toward the 372 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:18,400 shore where their loved ones would be gathered. 373 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,920 The captain got out his binoculars and began to look. 374 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:28,400 And as he did, he said, well, I see Bill's Mary, she's there. 375 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,100 And there's Tom's Margaret. 376 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:34,120 And there's David's Anne. 377 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:41,760 And one by one, he began to name all the wives that he could see on the shore. 378 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:46,680 But there was one man's wife who wasn't there. 379 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:52,040 He got off the ship heavy hearted and walked directly to his home, to his cottage. 380 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,760 And as he opened the door, she ran over to meet him and said, oh honey, I've been waiting 381 00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:00,420 for you. 382 00:33:00,420 --> 00:33:08,000 But gently he replied, yes, you've been waiting, but the other men's wives were watching for 383 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,000 them. 384 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,600 It's one thing to wait for Jesus. 385 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:20,600 We're called to watch for him. 386 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,260 The promise that ought to motivate you and me in the work that Jesus has left for us 387 00:33:24,260 --> 00:33:27,900 to do is that he could come today. 388 00:33:27,900 --> 00:33:31,280 That last one may trust the Savior today. 389 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:38,720 And you, you may be the one that God has in mind to take the Gospel to that person. 390 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:46,920 It's truly amazing to me that God has left this work to people like us. 391 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:52,960 That he chooses to work through us and not through angels, not through more greatly gifted 392 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,960 people but us. 393 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,920 That he will accomplish his work through us. 394 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,280 Not one of those whom he has chosen will be overlooked or missed. 395 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:09,520 All that the Father has given to Jesus will come to him and be included in his eternal 396 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,800 reign. 397 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:16,920 The question is not whether the continuing work of Jesus will be done because it will 398 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,280 be done. 399 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:25,920 But the question is whether we will be obedient to our part in it. 400 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:33,760 Whether we will choose to be used of him or whether we will neglect the opportunity. 401 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:39,800 And yet why would any follower neglect the opportunity when we have the power that we 402 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,120 need. 403 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,120 When we have the program laid out for us. 404 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:47,080 When we've got the promise to motivate us. 405 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:53,340 Why would we not desire more than anything in life to serve him with honor and with faithfulness 406 00:34:53,340 --> 00:34:57,320 and commitment. 407 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:05,280 Let that ring in our hearts that though the Savior has gone, gone away to heaven, he yet 408 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:10,280 continues his work through you and me. 409 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:14,960 What does he want to do today? 410 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:19,280 What's his purpose this week for you to do? 411 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,920 He's got something in mind. 412 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:28,320 Don't let the week pass without discovering what the Savior wants you to do as part of 413 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:29,840 his work. 414 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:39,560 And do it with all of your heart and be watching for him. 415 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,400 Let's pray. 416 00:35:42,400 --> 00:36:02,840 Lord, I pray that we will understand that you have committed to us a great work. 417 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:11,140 Forgive us when we seem to think that our work is more important. 418 00:36:11,140 --> 00:36:20,840 And what we have to do has greater significance than the work you want to do through us. 419 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:35,360 Lord Jesus, I pray that the work that we see in the book of Acts may be completed in Grace 420 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:40,260 Church, Roseville. 421 00:36:40,260 --> 00:36:45,640 I pray that you will cause us as a body of people to be so filled with the Holy Spirit, 422 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:53,080 so on target with the program that you've laid out for us, so aware of the promise that 423 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:56,160 we're watching. 424 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:04,720 Because of that, you're able to do much of your work through this congregation. 425 00:37:04,720 --> 00:37:10,160 Stir us, Lord, from lethargy. 426 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:14,360 Stir us from laziness. 427 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:27,140 And give to our hearts a renewed commitment to the work of Jesus Christ. 428 00:37:27,140 --> 00:37:34,120 Would you stand with me, please? 429 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:38,480 Before I close in prayer, would you with a bowed head just say, Lord, what do you want 430 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,160 me to do this week? 431 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,600 Lord, how can I serve you? 432 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:47,760 Lord, what is the thing, what is the task you want to give to my charge? 433 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,840 Lord, I will do it. 434 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:55,760 Lord, I want to serve you. 435 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:00,240 And if that's your heart, will you just double check to make sure that you're using the power 436 00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:03,480 that God's given you? 437 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:08,320 And if there's something there quenching the Holy Spirit, will you right now exhale that 438 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,800 and confess it? 439 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:16,640 And then inhale and ask the Holy Spirit to take charge again, to be in control of your 440 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:22,160 life, to fill you with His power? 441 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:29,280 He'll do it in an instant if by faith you'll just ask Him to. 442 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:40,040 Oh, Lord Jesus, I pray that you will come quickly. 443 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:44,560 But until that day that you come, may we serve faithfully. 444 00:38:44,560 --> 00:39:00,000 Amen.