You Will Be My Witnesses

root canals

exactly

exactly

there's few things that can strike fear

into a human being than the word root

canal

and there is nothing that can stir up

more fear in a Christian than the prospect

of having to talk about Jesus

to someone who is not a follower

of Jesus yet

we can put it on the same scale as a root

canal

and more often than not

our fears keep us from witnessing

to others about Jesus

there's the fear of offense

one of them is if I share the gospel with someone

tell about Jesus to this person

and they think I am

a real doofus and will have nothing

to do with me from there on out

I could lose a friendship

I could lose credibility with others

if I do at work

I could lose my job

I could be accused of being a narrow-minded bigot

which you don't want to be accused of

or it could just be really weird

like I share the gospel with my neighbor

and then the next day

we're bringing out the trash

on the side of the road

and we're looking at each other

and he's kind of like

what are you doing here freak show

it could also

be from a fear of failure

we don't witness to others

because we fear we don't know what to say

we fear that we're going to look stupid

we have this fear that

what happens if I say something wrong

and this person ends up in hell

because I've told them the wrong thing

man we can live in our fears

we can be ruled by our fears

but let me just drop something into your mind right now

what if

what if God

has actually placed you

into people's lives

so that you

would bear witness

about Christ

to them

and what if

that when they hear you

speak

of your Jesus

of who he is

and what he's done for you

and they hear that

God begins to draw them

to himself

and they come to repent

and believe

what if

what if

God

wants to use you

to advance

his kingdom

what if

God has

actually

purposed

to use you

as his

witness

for his glory

over the last several weeks

we've been looking at

God's word

to know how to be a modern day

disciple of Jesus Christ

and we've been

defining discipleship

to Christ

as intentionally

living your life

for Jesus

every area

of your life

for Christ

that's what disciples do

because he's worth it

this morning

is the last installment

in this series

to live intentionally

for Jesus

means you will

bear witness

about Jesus

to others

to live intentionally

for Jesus

is to bear witness

to Jesus

to others

he's worth it

and his worth

overcomes

our fears

a witness

is a person

that testifies

to the truth

of something

that he or she

has seen

or heard

and maybe

maybe you've

witnessed

a car accident

before

and the police

come

and they

take

their statements

from the witnesses

who saw

what happened

I recently

got rear-ended

by

by Jockey

and Andreas

and I

had to give

a statement

or maybe

you've been called

to be a witness

in a court

of law

and as you

take your place

on the witness

stand

a clerk

comes up

to you

and asks

you some

version of

do you swear

to tell

the whole

truth

the whole

truth

and nothing

but the truth

so help you

God

and you say

I do

when we talk

about witnessing

we're talking

about testifying

to the truth

of something

we've seen

or heard

now at the

beginning of

the book

of Acts

the risen

Jesus Christ

commissions

all of his

disciples

to be his

witnesses

to whoever

wherever

to be a

21st century

witness

of Jesus

to be a

21st

disciple

of Jesus

is to be a

21st century

witness

witness

to Jesus

to testify

to the truth

of who he is

and what he's

done for us

would you open

up your Bibles

now to Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and I'm going

to read through

6 verses

6 through 11

Acts is right

after the

gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

and then

you're in

Acts

and as you're

turning there

let me just

give you a

little heads

up as to

what's been

going on

here

the passage

that we're

about to

receive

to read

it's a

dialogue

we're going

to see

the disciples

ask Jesus

something

Jesus is

going to

respond

by saying

something

and then

these two

angels

come out

of nowhere

and ask

another

question

it's really

interesting

but all

this happened

40 days

after Jesus

has been

raised

from the

dead

and so

Jesus

has been

raised

he's been

appearing

to his

disciples

in various

places

and now

we come

to this

they've

gathered

together

on the

Mount

of Olives

outside

Jerusalem

so when

they had

gathered

Jesus

and his

disciples

they

the

disciples

asked him

the risen

Lord

Lord

will you

at this

time

restore

the

kingdom

of

Israel

and

Jesus

said

to

them

it's

not

for

you

to

know

times

or

seasons

that

the

father

has

fixed

by

his

own

authority

but

you

will

receive

power

when

the

Holy

Spirit

has

come

upon

you

and

you

will

be

my

witnesses

in

Jerusalem

and

all

Judea

and

Samaria

and

to

the

end

of

the

earth

and

when

he

had

said

these

things

as

they

were

looking

on

he

was

lifted

up

and

a

cloud

took

him

out

of

their

sight

and

while

they

were

gazing

into

heaven

as

he

went

behold

two

men

stood

by

them

in

white

robes

and

said

men

of

Galilee

why

do

you

stand

looking

into

heaven

this

Jesus

who

is

taken

up

from

you

into

heaven

will

come

in

the

same

way

as

you

saw

him

go

into

heaven

this

is

God's

word

here's

how we're

going to

proceed

this

morning

I'm

going to

kind of

slow

down

and

walk

you

through

that

passage

again

I

want

you

to

see

some

things

and

then

I'm

going

to

make

the

point

of

the

passage

it

has

to

do

this

passage

and

bring

it

to

bear

into

our

21st

century

context

so

let's

start

with

this

story

40

days

following

Jesus

resurrection

the

risen

Christ

is

gathered

with

the

disciples

Bethany

Mount

of

Olives

outside

of

Jerusalem

verse

6

the

disciples

ask

Jesus

a

question

remember

these

disciples

are

all

Jews

from

the

northern

region

of

Israel

called

Galilee

and

they

say

Lord

will

you

at

this

time

restore

the

kingdom

to

Israel

that's

a

very

interesting

question

now

remember

at

this

time

Israel

was

still

under

Roman

rule

in

occupation

and

so

here's

what's

going

on

in

the

disciples

minds

Jesus

has

been

raised

from

the

dead

we're

watching

and

hearing

now

a

risen

king

the

Messiah

and

so

what

they're

thinking

is

he's

the

guy

he's

the

Messiah

so

maybe

now's

the

time

when

the

Messiah

comes

kicks

the

Romans

out

and

sets

up

his

reign

in

Israel

and

so

they're

expecting

that

the

land

of

Israel

to

be

liberated

from

foreign

occupation

these

disciples

are

asking

a

question

that

goes

something

like

this

it's

more

of

a

statement

hey

it's

time

to

get

these

foreign

occupiers

out

of

here

and

restore

the

true

kingdom

with

Jesus

as

the

Messiah

king

to

the

land

of

Israel

they

have

an

ethnocentric

geographic

understanding

of

the

kingdom

of

God

they're

thinking

that

Jesus

is

going

to

bring

the

kingdom

just

for

them

the

kingdom

is

about

them

one

could

say

they

could

be

making

the

kingdom

of

God

into

their

own

image

and

it's

just

not

limited

to

the

first

century

here

in the

21st

century

we

have

a

tendency

of

thinking

that

the

kingdom

of

God

the

saving

reign

of

Jesus

should

look

like

us

should

look

like

the

way

we

look

it

should

be

here

and

so

Jesus

in

verse

7

responds

to

their

question

and

let me

just

tell

you

up

front

he

doesn't

tell

them

what

they

want

to

hear

he

doesn't

answer

their

question

the way

they

wanted

him

to

answer

it

Jesus

begins

in

verse

7

it's

not

for

you

to

know

times

or

seasons

that

the

father

has

fixed

by

his

own

authority

in

other

words

I

can't

tell

you

if

this

is

that

time

it's

not

for

you

to

know

you

don't

have

security

clearance

from

the

father

only

he

knows

one

thing

you

can't

miss

from

this

statement

is

that

the

father

the

first

person

of

the

trinity

is

exercising

authority

over

time

he

has

fixed

the

times

and

the

seasons

according

to

his

authority

time

serves

the

father's

purposes

and

then

in

verse

eight

Jesus

answers

their

question

not

with

a

yes

or

no

or

not

with

a

hey

here's

the

time

he

answers

their

question

with

mission

but

you

will

receive

power

when

the

Holy

Spirit

has

come

upon

you

and

you

will

be

my

witnesses

in

Jerusalem

and

all

Judea

and

Samaria

and

to

the

end

of

the

earth

the

disciples

the

Jewish

disciples

were

not

expecting

this

they

were

expecting

the

risen

Messiah

to

be

kicking

out

the

foreign

occupiers

and

restore

his

messianic

kingdom

reign

to

ethnic

Israel

within

the

geography

of

Jerusalem

but

what

he

tells

them

is

I'm

not

kicking

them

out

I'm

not

kicking

the

Gentiles

out

I'm

sending

out

you

to

the

Gentiles

I'm

sending

you

out

to

proclaim

my

saving

reign

for

all

to

hear

including

the

Gentiles

to

the

end

of

the

earth

he's

not

kicking

the

nations

out

he's

sending

his

disciples

out

on

mission

and

this

mission

is

going

to

start

in

Jerusalem

which

is

the

city

the

capital

of

Israel

and

it's

located

in

the

region

of

Judea

and

then

north

of

Judea

is

Samaria

and

then

beyond

all

that

are

the

ends

of

the

earth

Jesus

is

saying

hey

gang

I'm

going

global

with

the

saving

reign

of

God

and

you're

going to

need

the

Holy

Spirit

to

do

what

I've

commissioned

you to

do

and

then

in

verse

nine

there

are

no

time

for

questions

Jesus

commissions

his

disciples

and

then

we

read

and

when

he

had

said

these

things

as

they

were

looking

on

he

was

lifted

up

and

a

cloud

took

them

out

of

their

sight

after

telling

them

that

he

is

going

global

with

his

saving

reign

and

that

he

has

just

volunteered

his

disciples

to be

the

promotional

force

he

then

splits

he

takes

off

and

he

takes

off

in

the

most

memorable

of

ways

now

if

you

want

to

learn

how

to

make

a

memorable

exit

from

a

party

look

at

it

right

here

he

basically

says

okay

I'm

sending

you guys

out

on

a

global

mission

to

expand

my

saving

reign

and

he

basically

does

a

mic

drop

at

that

point

and

then

he's

like

taken

up

lifted

up

and

what

we

see

from

these

verse

nine

is

that

he

gets

on

a

cloud

escalator

of

sorts

that

lifts

him

up

and

out

of

the

sight

of

his

disciples

into

heaven

he

ascends

bodily

into

heaven

and

is

now

at

the

right

hand

of

God

a

position

of

authority

have

you

ever

released

like

a

red

helium

balloon

before

kind

of

a

balloon

release

and

you

let

that

thing

go

and

you're

watching

that

red

balloon

go up

into

the

blue

sky

and

you

just

keep

on

watching

it

watching

it

and

you're

like

I

think

I

still

see

it

I

think

I

still

see

it

and

then

it

kind

of

disappears

you

can't

see

it

anymore

verse

10

they're

still

gazing

into

heaven

as

Jesus

is

ascending

when

this

other

surprise

happens

out

of

nowhere

two

men

are

standing

by

them

in

white

robes

I

was

with

a

couple

guys

yesterday

and

we're

kind

of

joking

about

this

it's

like

they're

looking

up

into

the

sky

and

then

all

of a

sudden

two

guys

are

like

whoa

like

where'd

you

guys

come

from

they're

dressed

in

white

the

last

time

two

showed

up

was

40

days

earlier

on

resurrection

Sunday

at

the

empty

tomb

and

they

asked

a

question

why

are

you

looking

for

the

living

among

the

dead

he's

not

here

he

is

risen

these

are

two

angels

and

you

can't

help

but

wonder

if

they're

the

same

two

angels

that

were

at

the

empty

tomb

and

here

they

are

in

verse

10

proclaiming

the

ascension

of

Jesus

they

proclaim

the

resurrection

bodily

now

they're

proclaiming

hey

he's

gone

up

look

at

verse

11

men

of

Galilee

why

do

you

stand

looking

into

heaven

this

Jesus

who's

taken

up

from

you

into

heaven

will

come

in

the

same

way

as

you

saw

him

go

into

heaven

and

what

is

that

way

he

went

into

heaven

on

a

cloud

he's

going

to

come

back

on

a

cloud

and

what

that

is

is

a

veiled

reference

to

the

day

fixed

by

the

father

in

which

the

risen

son

of

man

returns

from

the

right

hand

of

power

coming

on

the

clouds

of

heaven

to

be

given

dominion

over

all

people

and

all

things

for

all

time

Daniel

7

13

through

14

and

when

he

comes

he's

going

to

bring

judgment

he's

going

to

make

all

things

right

and

there's

no

doubt

that

we're

talking

about

Jesus

this

Jesus

who

was

taken

up

from

you

into

heaven

will

come

in

the

same

ways

as

you

saw

him

go

on

the

clouds

all

authority

basically

these

two

angels

are

saying

to

Jesus

disciples

hey

guys

stop

looking

up

in

the

air

it's

time

to

get

down

to

business

the

same

way

he

went

up

is

the

same

way

he's

going

to

come

back

now

go

wait

for

the

Holy

Spirit

to

come

and

send

you

out

so

40

days

after

the

resurrection

the

risen

Christ

commissions

his

disciples

to

be

his

witnesses

to

all

people

everywhere

the

kingdom

of

the

Messiah

the

saving

reign

of

God

isn't

just

being

limited

to

to

be

proclaimed

to

all

people

regardless

of

their

ethnicity

regardless

of

their

location

God

is

seeking

to

do

a

global

work

of

gathering

people

to

worship

him

through

Jesus

after

saying

these

things

Jesus

of course

is

taken

up

in

a

cloud

into

heaven

the

rest

of

the

book

of

Acts

is

the

outworking

of

Acts

1

8

we

see

in

chapters

1

through

7

the

early

church

empowered

by

the

Holy

Spirit

preaching

the

gospel

to

Jerusalem

and

then

in

chapters

8

through

12

we

see

the

early

church

empowered

by

the

spirit

making

Jesus

known

to

all

Judea

and

Samaria

and

then

in

chapters

13

through

28

we

see

the

early

church

empowered

by

the

spirit

proclaiming

Jesus

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

so

here's

the

point

here's

why

this

is

in

our

Bibles

returns

we

his

church

bear

witness

to

him

to

all

people

everywhere

that's

the

point

until

he

comes

back

we

are

to

be

witnessing

about

Jesus

to

others

the

church

is

the

witnessing

community

of the

risen

Christ

it's

who

we

are

and

it's

what

we

do

so

if

you're

a

disciple