Continuing What Jesus Started |Carlos Velez | Calvary Church

Well, welcome to Calvary Church

and welcome Quakertown as you join us

via Simocast. I hope you guys are having

a great day. Uh we're excited that you

are joining us at this time. Now, we

just finished, if you were here for the

summer, we just finished a series on the

book of Psalms. And next week, we start

a new series on the book of Luke. We're

going to be looking at Luke all the way

through Christmas. Today's the in

between. Okay, today's a one message.

And what we're going to do is we're

going to look at our mission at Calvary

Church. And our mission has been the

same for years. Our mission is to

continue what Jesus started. Continue

what Jesus started. And so, as we take a

look at that, we're going to take a look

in the Bible

at a passage where we actually got that

mission from. Now, before we do that, I

just kind of want to talk through a

little. I was I was reminiscing a little

bit actually tomorrow.

Um, my family and I who are they're

older now. Like my oldest is 25, my

youngest is 17. So they're all older,

but we're going to be going to Canobyl

tomorrow, the amusement park. Love

Canobyl. Okay. We've been doing that

forever. Been doing that since they were

little kids. Love it. Really excited

about that. When they were kids though,

when they were little little kids,

the drive was annoying,

right? The drive is annoying. Why? Why

is the drive? Because the drive was

annoying because of a question

that kept coming up,

right? You already know the question,

right? The question was, "Are we there

yet?"

I mean, like, we literally just got out

of the driveway. You can see the house

right there.

Like, I want to answer. I want to answer

when I hear that question. I want to

answer and be like, "Yes, we are there.

You see that Waw Wa? It's not a Waw Wa.

It's actually a roller coaster."

I don't answer that. I don't say that. I

I'm I am calm during those questions. I

do. And I say, "No,

dearly beloved child,

we are not there yet."

But then they ask a second question. The

second question is when will we be

there?

Then they do not get called the beloved

child at that point. But that's the

question, right? It's like are we there

yet? When are we going to get there?

When are we going to get there?

That's the question that's actually

asked in the passage that we're going to

read today by the disciples to Jesus.

So, if you have a Bible, turn to Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. If you don't have a Bible and

you're using one of the Bibles here in

Calvary, Seron or in Quakertown, you

turn to page 7:43. If you don't own a

Bible, take it home. We believe that the

Bible is filled with life-changing

truth. We want you to have access to

that. So, it's our gift to you. Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, starting in verse one.

The author of Acts is actually Luke.

Okay. So Luke who we're going to be

studying the book of Luke wrote that

book Luke and he also wrote the book

Acts. So he's talking he says in Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 verse one. He says in my

former book Theophilles that's who he

wrote the book of Luke for. Now he's

this is who he's writing the book of

Acts to. In my former book, Theophilles,

I wrote all that Jesus began to do and

teach

until the day he was taken up to heaven

after giving instructions through the

Holy Spirit to the apostles he had

chosen. After his suffering, he

presented himself to them and gave many

convincing proofs that he was alive. He

appeared to them over a period of 40

days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

On one occasion, while he was eating

with them, he gave them this command. Do

not leave Jerusalem,

but wait for the gift my father

promised, which you have heard me speak

about. For John baptized with water, but

in a few days you will be baptized with

the Holy Spirit." Then they gathered

around him and asked him, "Lord,

are you at this time going to restore

the kingdom of Israel?"

That's the are we there yet question.

Now, the disciples aren't asking a

question like my kids ask. It's not this

is not a childlike question. There's

actually something more to it. They're

asking a question in regards to the

promises of God.

You see, there had been promises

throughout the years that the people of

Israel had been clinging to.

And so, what they're asking this moment,

they're like, "Lord, is this now? Is it

now? Is this when you're going to

fulfill those promises?

Is is this the time? Are we there yet?"

And Jesus answers them,

but Jesus answers them in a way that

they're not expecting.

But before we get to his answer, I want

to back up a little bit because I think

we need to back up to verse one and and

just notice one word. Before we answer

before we look at Jesus' answer, we need

to look at the setting where that answer

is given. Let's look at verse one again.

What does it say? In my former book,

Theophilles, I wrote all about all that

Jesus began to do and to teach.

Okay,

there's a word there that we need to pay

attention to.

The word is began.

You see, notice what Luke doesn't do.

Luke doesn't do this. In my former book,

Theophilles, I wrote about all that

Jesus did. Now, in this book, I'm going

to write all about the church will do.

That's not what he does.

You see, Acts is Luke 2.0.

And the main character hasn't changed.

Jesus is still working. He's working. He

began his work in the book that Luke

wrote in Luke. He's continuing his work

in Acts. He is still working, but now

he's working through his Holy Spirit and

through his people.

You see, the big idea for today is this.

This is the whole idea for the whole

sermon. Jesus is still working and we

get to join him. Jesus is still working

and we get to join him.

You see, that's what we mean when we say

that our mission is continuing what

Jesus started.

We aren't finishing something that Jesus

couldn't finish.

That's not what it means. We're not

finishing something that Jesus couldn't

finish. We're joining in something that

Jesus is still doing.

We're joining in something that Jesus is

still doing. That's the mission. And

what's amazing about the mission is that

Jesus gets to define the mission. You

see, in Acts chapter 1, Jesus defines

Acts 1 · chapter mention

our mission. Let's go back into it.

Verse 7, he said to them, "It is not for

you to know the times or dates the

Father has set by his own authority, but

you will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you, and you will be my

witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea

and Samaria and to the ends of the

earth.

How does Jesus respond? How does he

answer the question, are we there yet?

He doesn't give them a date.

He doesn't say, "No, not today, but

here's when it will happen." He doesn't

give them a date. He doesn't give them a

rebuke. He doesn't say, "Will you stop

asking that question?"

You're chuckling because you all said

that to your kids at some point. He

doesn't say that. He doesn't say like,

"Will you stop asking that question?"

What does he do? He redirects them.

He redirects them.

He moves them from their focus on the

timing of the kingdom to their place in

the kingdom. He moves their attentions

to their place in the kingdom. And then

he gives them he he lets them understand

that this place comes with a mission.

And here's the mission. You will be my

witnesses.

You will be my witnesses. The mission

isn't you will build the perfect church.

The mission isn't you will have amazing

programs.

The mission isn't you will fix the

culture. No, the mission the mission is

you will be my witness.

And a witness is simply someone who

testifies to what they have seen and

know to be true. And and understand who

he's talking about. Understand who he's

talking to. These people, these these

disciples, these apostles,

they've seen Jesus.

They saw Jesus do miracles. They saw

Jesus heal people. They saw Jesus feed

people. They saw Jesus teach. They saw

Jesus carry a cross. They saw Jesus die.

And then they saw Jesus live.

They saw him live after he had died.

And they, what does it say? For 40 days,

they learned from him after he had died.

He was alive again. And they are

witnesses to who Jesus is. To the

eternal king, the victorious king, the

king of kings. That's the whole point.

They are witnesses to who Jesus is.

You see, the book of Acts is not

ultimately about the apostles. The book

of Acts is not ultimately about the

church.

They play a big part in it,

but it's about Jesus

still speaking, still working now

through the testimony of his people.

What we need to understand is that

Christian mission begins with testimony

before it ever becomes activity.

The heart of Christian mission is the

testimony of Jesus, not our own

activity.

And that's the heart of what we read in

Acts chapter 1. In fact, what we read in

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 1 verse 8, what we're going

Acts 1:8

to read, what we read is known as the

great commission. you uh many times you

look at Acts chapter 18 or maybe you

Acts 18 · chapter mention

look at Matthew 28 as the great

commission. In fact, actually

there are five commissions in the Bible.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts all

have a commission.

Let's take a look at it. Let's look at

Matthew. Matthew 28

Matthew 28:18

verse 18. Then Jesus came to them and

said, "All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me. Therefore,

go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything

I've commanded you. And surely I'm with

you always to the very end of the age."

I love that. It's it's a command that

comes with a promise, a promise of

presence.

Let's look at Mark chapter 16 verse1 15.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

He said to them, "Go into all the world

and preach the gospel to all creation."

Luke

uh chapter 24. Then he opened their

minds so they could understand the

scriptures. He told them, "This is what

is written. The Messiah will suffer and

rise from the dead. And on the third

day,

rise from the dead on the third day. And

repentance for the forgiveness of sins

will be preached in his name to all

nations beginning at Jerusalem. You are

witnesses of these things. I'm going to

send you what my father has promised,

but stay in the city until you have been

clothed with the power from on high.

John 20 21. And Jesus said, "Peace be

with you. As the father has sent me, I

am sending you." And with that, he

breathed on them and said, "Receive the

Holy Spirit." Again, Acts 1:8, "But you

Acts 1:8

will receive power when the Holy Spirit

comes on you, and you will be my

witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and

Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

These are not five different

commissions.

These are not five different missions.

They're five different windows into the

same mission.

They're five different windows into the

same mission. Jesus is saying, "I'm

sending you.

I am sending you

to be my witness."

He got this. He is sending you. He's not

just sending a few.

Not just sending a few. He's not just

sending the pastors.

He's not just sending the missionaries.

He's not just sending people with formal

education. He's sending the whole

church. He's sending all of us.

He is sending us to be his witness.

This is the heart of what it is to

continue what Jesus started.

And what we need to understand is that

Jesus defines the mission, but Jesus

supplies the power for the mission.

Again, what does it say in Acts 18? But

you will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you, and you will be my

witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and

Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

It is tempting to read Acts 18 and say,

"We have a mission. Let's go and do it.

Let's go. We got this.

And if we approach Acts one like that,

we've missed the point. We've missed the

point. What What does Jesus say right

before that? What does he say? He says,

"Wait."

He says, "Wait.

Wait for the gift that the father is

sending. Wait. Wait for the Holy

Spirit."

And what we need to understand is when

he says wait, it's not that we need some

boost to do a mission that is pretty

hard. It's not that we needed a power

up.

It's not that the Holy Spirit fuels our

mission.

You see, the reason is much deeper.

The mission is God's work.

It's God's work.

We don't recruit the Holy Spirit for our

mission.

The Holy Spirit draws us into God's

presence and draws us into God's

mission.

That's why Jesus says, "Wait."

It's not because he's saying, "Here's a

power up so you will be a little bit

stronger."

No, it's you cannot do God's work on

your own.

So don't even begin until God himself

goes with you. That's what Jesus is

saying.

We don't continue what Jesus started by

trying harder. We continue what Jesus

started by depending on him.

You see, we don't want to be a church

that simply works hard for Jesus. We

want to be a church that depends

completely on Jesus, on the work of his

Holy Spirit.

You see, we could at times get

distracted and there are good things

that we could get distracted by. They're

good things we can get distracted by

good programming or good preaching or

good worship music or good facilities or

good technology or good children. We can

get distracted by that and those are all

good things and it's a good thing to

have them. But none of them, none of

them can replace the power of the Holy

Spirit

or the mission of Jesus.

None of them.

You see, our mission I is not to see how

much we can accomplish for Jesus.

Our mission is to join in what he's

already doing.

Is to join in with what he's already

doing.

And what he's doing is he is expanding

the reach of the gospel. He's expanding

the good news of Jesus. He's he's

reaching people with that. And what he's

doing is he's expanding our reach. You

see, Jesus expands our reach. What does

it say again? We're going to go back.

We're going to keep going to this one

verse. Acts 18. What does it say? But

you will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you, and you will be my

witnesses where? in Jerusalem and in all

Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the

earth.

Okay, let's slow down a little bit and

look at those four locations

because actually

that's the geographic

timeline through the book of Acts. It

starts in Jerusalem. It expands to Judea

and then it expands further out after

that go all the way through the ends of

the earth.

There is a geog there is a reason why we

talk about locally, regionally and

internationally when we talk about

missions. There is a geographical

component to it.

But there's so much more than that.

There's so much more to that.

You see, there's something we need to

understand that this mission isn't a

linear approach. It's not you get to

Jerusalem, stop one. Now you go to

Judea, stop two, keep moving to stop

three,

Samaria, and then move to stop four, the

ends of the earth. It's not a linear

approach. In fact, it's more like

circles that are expanding almost like

ripples that come from when you throw a

rock into word, there's ripples that go

and it's that focal point of Jesus that

expands these circles out.

And there's a word in there that we have

to pay attention to.

The word is and.

And

it says Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria

and the ends of the earth. It doesn't

say Jerusalem then Judea then Samaria

then the ends of the earth. It doesn't

say Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria or the

ends of it's and

we are called to be a part of all of

them. this ever widening circles that

come from the impact of Jesus hitting

our world.

So what does that mean in our lives?

What does that mean?

Well, let's take a look. We start with

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, start where you are.

Jerusalem is where you are.

It's your home. It's the place to start.

It's the people around your kitchen

table.

I It's the people in the cubicle next to

you at work.

It's the people in your classroom.

It's your immediate circle.

It's home.

You start at home. You start in

Jerusalem.

You know what's interesting?

That's usually the hardest place to

start.

Right?

Because I don't know about you, but the

people around my kitchen table, they

actually know me.

They can answer whether my life actually

meets up to the words that I'm saying.

Right?

Jerusalem is oftentimes the hardest

place to start.

They're the people who know you at your

best and at your worst. And what you

need to understand is that your life has

to match your witness.

And the great thing about Jerusalem is

you don't have to travel anywhere.

You just got to pay attention to what's

going on around you and look for

opportunities to live out

the life of a witness of Jesus.

Then where do we go after that? So

Jerusalem is start where you are and

then Judea says go beyond your immediate

circle. Just go beyond. It's still

close. It's the same kind of people,

right? It's just one step past your

immediate circle. It It's the people

that uh exercise in the gym where you

exercise at.

It's the people who get a coffee at the

same time at the same place where you

get a coffee. It's the people you run

into every day that have the same kind

of rhythms. They have the same kind of

thing. I It's the other parent

at the soccer game

for your kid's teammate.

It's they're in your circle just a

little bit farther out.

I It's move from the people that I

already know to the people that I could

know. Right?

It's a little bit simpler. It's Judea is

like I don't know you but I could know

you if I really wanted to.

You know what's a great opportunity to

do that if you're just kind of thinking

like well you know what's what's great

the documentary that we're doing on

Thursday the screeners that's actually a

partnership we're doing with Penn

Foundation and we're partnering with the

North Penn school district the Serin

School District Pen all these school

districts have been invited. It's a it's

actually an event for our community.

It's not an event for us as a church.

It's an event for our community. You're

all invited, but you should go and

invite someone. Go invite someone from

your kids school. Go invite someone from

your kids sports team. Go invite someone

and come together.

This is an opportunity for us to join

arms with people in our community and

just be together for a little bit this

Thursday, this week. So, go sign up. You

can do it now. I won't I won't be

offended. Go ahead.

So you got Jerusalem, you got Judea

and then you got Samaria.

Samaria is where you cross boundaries.

It's not just a geographical change.

There's a theological change that's

happening when Jesus gives this command

and we can't miss it.

Samaria are the people who aren't like

you.

They're the people who you might not

naturally choose to be around.

They're near enough to be in your

proximity,

but they're different enough to be

uncomfortable.

Maybe we need to understand a little bit

more about what Samaria meant to the

Jewish people that were hearing that

word.

There is deep, deep hurt. There is deep,

deep resentment. There's deep, deep

shunning of these people. Just

previously, just a little bit ago, um

Jesus goes to Samaria and he's rejected

by the people of Samaria. And then James

and John have this have this reaction.

They say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You know

what, Jesus? What do you want us to do?

You want us to call down fire so we

destroy all these people?"

That's their first response. to people

who are rejecting Jesus. Their first

response was not let's go pursue them.

It's let's destroy them.

Let's make sure they don't exist.

And the very same people that they once

wanted to burn are now the people that

Jesus sends them to love.

The very same people.

Who's your Samaria?

Who's a person or people group that

you've written off whose background or

politics or worldview makes you uneasy

or who's simply hard to love?

You see, often times as a church, we're

better at avoiding or arguing about

people than loving them.

Truly loving them.

And Jesus never told his church to go

around Samaria. He told them to go to

it.

He told them to go into it. The gospel

deliberately crosses the line. Jesus

didn't only die for the people that are

easy for us to love. He died for your

Samaria as well.

And then where does he send us? He sends

us to the ends of the earth.

go wherever Jesus sends you. Now, most

of us won't move to another country.

Most of us won't move away, but all of

us are connected to the entirety of this

world. You can go if some God is calling

you to go somewhere to go. You can go

honor that call. You can also send as

what we do as a church. We partner with

our ministry partners. We send. We pray

for them. We give to them. And here's

the reality of the ends of the earth.

You can welcome.

I don't know about you, but have you

noticed our neighborhoods?

Have you noticed where you live?

The ends of the earth are coming here.

They're moving here. We have such an

amazing opportunity to be witnesses to

the end of the earth in our own

backyard.

That's amazing.

And and just just just a a side note on

the ends of the earth. Again, remember

those circles. At times we can focus on

the ends of the earth and forget about

our Jerusalem.

It's it's it's easy to love the idea of

reaching people far away

because sometimes it lets us ignore the

person right next to us, right?

Jesus calls us all four at the same

time.

God may send you across the world,

but he also may send you across the

street.

Just remember that your mission field

may be your family. It could be your

neighborhood. It could be your

workplace. It could be your classroom.

It could be your friendships. It could

be your community. It could be the skate

park in Quakertown. It could be at your

home leading a young life group. It

could be at a sporting event with FCA.

It could be uh around a table with Nate

Sims at table talk. The whole point is

who has Jesus placed in your life?

Who has he placed around you? That's

your Jerusalem.

Who have you tried to avoid? That's your

Samaria.

It means joining Jesus wherever he's

already at work.

even at times when we'd rather not.

And speaking of that, Jesus gives us a

posture for this mission. Look at Acts 1

again at verse 9. After he said this, he

was taken up before their very eyes and

a cloud hid him from their sight. They

were looking intently up into the sky as

he was going when suddenly two men

dressed in white stood beside them. Men

of Galilee, they said, why do you stand

here looking into the sky? This same

Jesus who has been taken from you into

heaven will come back in the same way.

You have seen him go into heaven. Then

the apostles returned to Jerusalem from

the hill called the Mount of Olives, a

Sabbath day's walk from the city. When

they arrived, they went upstairs to the

room where they were staying. Those

present were Peter, John, James, and

Andrew, Philip, and Thomas Bartholomew,

and Matthew, James, son of Alphus, and

Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of

James. They all join together constantly

in prayer along with the women and Mary

the mother of Jesus and with his

brothers.

Jesus gets taken up miraculously. He

gets taken up into heaven and the

disciples just kind of staring. And then

the angels come and they're what do they

do? They're like, "Okay, what are you

doing?

What are you doing?" But you know what

they don't do? They don't do like, "What

are you doing? Get to work. Let's go."

No. But what they do is they reveal a

truth. They say this same Jesus who you

saw go up into heaven, he's coming back.

He's coming back. And there's a truth in

that. The truth is he has gone up into

heaven. So he is reigning as the eternal

king. But he will one day also return.

And so the disciples and us today as the

church moving forward, we live in the

already and not then.

We live in the already because Jesus is

already the victorious king and he is

reigning and we live in the not then

because we are waiting for him to

return.

And so what do they do?

What do they do?

They don't run off and start the work.

What do they do? They gather and wait

and they pray. What does it say in verse

14? They pray. They gather, wait, and

pray. And that's the posture that shapes

what we are to do as a church between

Jesus's ascension and his return. Not

passive,

not frantic, not self-sufficient, but

prayerful dependence.

Participators on our knees,

not spectators looking at the sky.

Because Jesus reigns, we work. Because

Jesus is coming again, we hope. Because

Jesus has given his spirit, we witness.

Because Jesus is sovereign, we pray.

And that's the beauty of Mondays.

That's the beauty of tomorrow. It's

going to start your week, your ordinary

week.

Yay.

Guess what?

Jesus is working in your ordinary.

He's working in your ordinary.

And in your ordinary is where God does

something eternal.

And guess what? You just have to join

him. That takes the pressure off. You're

not the power source. The Holy Spirit is

the power.

Okay, here's the deal. You can sit on

the sidelines. You can if you want. You

can sit on the sidelines.

Just understand that there are people

that God's placed right next to you that

will remain unreached.

And I want you to understand that

there's eternity at stake.

Understand the cost of what it means to

sit on the sidelines.

Or

you can get a front row seat

to what God is doing. And let me tell

you, that is an amazing place to be.

Next week, we're going to jump into the

book of Luke and we're going to look at

Jesus. And we're going to look at who he

is and what he did. And we're going to

look at his resurrection. We're going to

look at his uh death. We're going to

look at all the things that he did. And

as we get to know Jesus, we are going to

learn from Jesus. And we get to be like

Jesus because we've learned from him.

But what we need to understand is that

the story didn't end there.

The book of Luke teaches what Jesus

began to do and teach. The book of Acts

shows us that Jesus continues to do and

teach.

And he invites us to participate.

Jesus is still working. The gospel is

still going. The kingdom is still

advancing. The Holy Spirit is still

empowering. And Jesus invites us to

participate.

So this week, I want to leave you with

two questions. I don't want you just to

think about it. I actually want you to

answer these two questions. Okay, we're

going to pray in a moment and you get to

pray and give an answer to these two

questions. Okay, here's the questions.

Who's your Jerusalem?

Who is your Jerusalem?

Who is it in your immediate circle

that you need to begin praying for and

looking for an opportunity

to be a witness to? Who is your

Jerusalem?

Question number two,

who is your Samaria?

Who's the person or people group

that causes you to sneeze?

No. Who is your Samaria? Who is that

people or people group that causes you

to just feel uncomfortable that causes

you to more want to push away than to

bring in.

Who's that group that just makes you

upset? Who's that group that you just

kind of like, "No, I don't like them.

I'd rather the fire come down and take

them out."

Because that's exactly who Jesus is

sending you to. Just so you know,

that's exactly who Jesus is sending you

to.

So pray about who's your Samaria and

begin to pray for them

and look for ways to be a witness in

Samaria.

Jesus is still working.

We get to join him not by simply working

for him but by working with him. That's

what it means to continue what Jesus

started.

But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit comes on you and

you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria and to the

ends of the earth. Let's pray. Lord, we

ask you that you would let us do just

that.

That you would let us be your witness.

That you would give us the

opportunities, the strength, and the

courage to actually live out lives as

witnesses to who you are.

Lord, I ask that you begin to stir in

our hearts a passion for whoever it is

that is our Jerusalem.

That you'd begin to stir our hearts for

whoever it is that is our Samaria.

and that you would give us hearts that

will explode with compassion and love.

Love that comes first from our love that

we received from you and that we respond

back to you that now gets expressed as

we love others,

the very ones that you've placed around

us and in our lives.

And Lord, I ask you that you will expand

your kingdom.

That you would do a mighty work

in Jerusalem,

in Judea,

in Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth.

We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.