You Will Be My Witnesses

Heavenly Father, we are excited to begin our study of the book of Acts, to hear what you

have to say in your word about your son Jesus Christ, about the Holy Spirit, about the church,

who we are, about our mission. And Lord, we want to use this opportunity to examine ourselves,

and we want to be stirred up by the examples we see in the Christian brothers and sisters who have

gone before us. And we want to be more empowered, filled by your Holy Spirit in our life and ministry.

So please do that, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. That's chapter 1. I will read verses 1 to 14.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,

until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the

apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs,

appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise

of the Father, which he said,

You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days

from now. So when they had come together,

they asked him,

Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

He said to them,

It is 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 in 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, to behold,

two men stood by them in white robes and said,

Men of Galilee,

why do you stand looking into heaven?

This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven

will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet,

which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day journey away.

And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying,

Peter and John and James and Andrew,

Philip and Thomas,

Bartholomew and Matthew,

James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the zealot,

and Judas the son of James.

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer,

together with the woman,

and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

We are in Acts chapter 1, verses 1 to 14,

Acts 1:1–14

beginning our series in the book of Acts.

As I said earlier, the author is Luke, the evangelist.

That's attested as early as 2nd century,

and we see evidence of that throughout the book of Acts

because he includes himself in the narrative by using the pronoun we.

And we know that Luke was a companion of Paul's

from Philemon 24, 2 Timothy 4.11, and other places.

And since the last recorded event in the book of Acts took place around 62 A.D.,

and since the book never mentions several key events in church history

and in the history of Israel from 65 to 70 A.D.,

it seems examples of that would be in the Neronian persecution,

death of Paul and Peter,

significant events, destruction of Jerusalem.

It seems likely that Acts was finished before that,

so the date of composition is somewhere between 62 and 65 A.D.

And in verse 1, Luke says,

In the first book of Theophilus,

I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.

So from this, we know that Acts is the second of a two-volume series.

And the first volume is the Gospel of Luke,

which was also dedicated to this person named Theophilus,

who was likely a patron that funded the copying and distribution of Luke's work.

And in Luke 1, verse 3,

Luke 1:3

he has said that having followed all things closely for some time past,

that he has written an orderly account of what Jesus did and taught.

That was what Luke said about his Gospel.

So the genre of the book of Acts, likewise, is history, just like Luke.

And more specifically, it's biblical history,

since it emulates the style and theological themes of Old Testament history.

And I noted in our sermon series through Luke

that Luke is a first-rate historian

whose attention to detail is noted by many modern historians and archaeologists.

And perhaps this is not surprising,

considering that he was a doctor.

He's called the beloved physician in Colossians 4, verse 14.

Colossians 4:14

And now in this sequel,

with the same orderliness and meticulousness we expect of him,

he tells us about what Jesus continues to do through his apostles.

But it's important to note that this wasn't just Dr. Luke's hobby

or a mere academic exercise because he likes history.

He likes to keep a record of things that happened.

There's a reason why the church tradition calls him Luke the Evangelist.

Luke sought to preserve this history

so that you might believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.

We saw this purpose clearly at the beginning of his Gospel

in Luke chapter 1, verse 4.

Luke 1:4

He said,

That you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

That's the purpose of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, its sequel.

Especially because the early church was persecuted,

so intensely persecuted,

and in many cases by the Jews themselves,

there were many opportunities for doubt to creep in.

So Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts

to reassure people that Jesus really is who he said he was.

That he really died on the cross and was raised on the third day.

That he really ascended to the heavens.

That he really sent the Spirit of God down.

That these events really were the work of God.

And it was the fulfillment of God's promises from of old.

And that the church really is the true people of God.

And that the apostles are the ones who are continuing the things that Jesus did and taught.

My prayer is that as we go through this,

that you be reassured of these things also.

So the intended structure of the book of Acts is made apparent by the summary statements

at the end of each section,

where Luke mentions one way or another that the Word of God continued to increase,

or that the church multiplied and was built up.

These are examples of all the summary statements.

Acts 2, 6, 9, 12, 16, 19, and 28.

And if you use those as kind of as guiding markers to form an outline,

it looks like this.

The church of Christ established and empowered in chapter 1 to chapter 2, verse 41.

And then the church in Jerusalem, chapter 2 to 6.

The church in Judea and Samaria, chapter 6 to 9.

Peter and the first Gentile convert.

And Paul turning to the Gentiles.

And then to the end of the earth.

And finally to Jerusalem and to Rome in 1921 to 2831.

In this particular passage, Luke teaches us that as followers of Jesus,

we are to bear witness to Jesus Christ to the end of the earth

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's the main point of our passage this evening.

And I'm going to talk about that in three parts.

First, the power for Christian mission, chapter 1, verses 1 to 5.

Then the purview of Christian mission, verses 6 to 11.

And finally, prayer and Christian mission, verses 12 to 14.

In Luke chapter 24, verse 19, after Jesus' resurrection,

Luke 24:19

we see two of Jesus' disciples on the road to Emmaus

speaking about how Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word

before God and all the people.

And echoing that language, Luke says here in chapter 1, verses 1 to 2 of Acts,

In the first book of Theophilus,

I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach

until the day when he was taken up,

after he had given command through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles whom he had chosen.

But what exactly did Jesus say and do?

What exactly did Jesus command his apostles?

Verses 3 to 5 give us more detail.

It says,

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs,

appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while staying with them,

he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem,

but to wait for the promise of the Father,

which he said,

You heard from me.

For John baptized with water,

but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

This verse closely parallels what Luke said at the end of his gospel

in chapter 24, verses 46 to 49,

which also contains these three elements of what Jesus did and said.

First is Christ's suffering,

which includes his death,

his death on the cross.

Second is Christ's resurrection.

Third is Christ's message about the kingdom of God.

In Luke 24, 46, 47,

he unpacks it and says,

Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer,

and on the third day rise from the dead,

and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins

should be proclaimed in his name to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

So once again,

Christ's suffering,

Christ's resurrection,

and Christ's proclamation of the kingdom of God,

which entails coming under the gracious reign of Christ

by receiving forgiveness of sins

through repentance and faith.

This is what Christ did and said.

He first suffered,

died on the cross for our sins.

He tasted death for our sake

so that we might have eternal life

by putting our trust in him.

Second, he was raised.

The fact that he was raised

is proof that his death,

his atoning sacrifice,

was accepted by the Father.

And the third,

it is Christ's death and resurrection

that makes possible our repentance

for the forgiveness of sins.

And true repentance is not merely a mental ascent,

but it's a turning,

a reorienting of one's entire life.

When you renounce your autonomy

and submit to the lordship of Christ,

when you renounce your sinful ways

and submit to the ways of God,

that is true repentance

that leads to forgiveness of sins.

And only those who have received forgiveness of sins

in this way

are reconciled to God

as citizens of the kingdom of God.

They're no longer under the dominion of Satan,

but under the gracious reign of Jesus Christ, the king.

That's why the proclamation,

the message of the kingdom,

the good news of the kingdom,

and the good news of Christ's death

and resurrection

are intimately related.

Jesus did and taught these things.

And the apostles continued to do

and teach these things.

And now we are to do and teach these things.

We are called to suffer as Christ suffered.

The Greek word that's translated as witnesses in verse 8

is the word from which we get the English word martyr.

Not all Christian witness involves martyrdom,

but all Christian witness involves suffering.

At the time of Paul's conversion in Acts 9, 15-16,

Jesus says concerning him,

He is a chosen instrument of mine

to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings

and the children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer

for the sake of my name.

Being a Christian witness entails

carrying the name of Jesus

and suffering for the name of Jesus.

If you live the way Christ lived

and if you say the things that Christ said,

you're going to be persecuted

no matter where you live on this planet.

Because the enemies of Christ

will not leave you alone.

But take heart,

because those who suffer with Christ

will also rise with him.

Those who partake in his suffering

will also partake in his resurrection glory.

And so we are being called to follow this pattern

that Christ has set for us.

But curiously, verse 1

describes the entirety of Jesus' earthly ministry

right up to his ascension to heaven

as what Jesus began to do and teach.

Isn't that interesting?

Isn't that interesting?

In one sense, his earthly ministry is finished.

And yet, that's only what he has begun to do.

This is because his ministry now continues

through the apostles and through the church.

He says,

He commanded through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles whom he had chosen.

The word apostle comes from the Greek word

that means to send.

The Latin equivalent of that word is missio

from which we get the word missions.

The apostles are missionaries.

Sent out with the authority

of the risen Christ.

Eleven of these apostles

are named in Acts 1, verse 13.

Acts 1:13

The original twelve minus Judas Iscariot,

the traitor.

And Jesus began his mission

while here on earth.

And he now continues that mission

through the Holy Spirit

in the ministry of the apostles.

And that means we too

are part of this ongoing mission.

Because Ephesians 2, 19-21

says that we are members

of the household of God

that is being built

on the foundation of the apostles

and prophets.

Christ Jesus himself

being the cornerstone.

The people of God, the church,

is the temple of the Lord

being built up

on the foundation of the apostles.

We're part of the same building project

as these apostles.

And that's why the mission of Christ,

the mission of the apostles

is now also our mission.

Sometimes we,

as followers of Christ,

become apathetic

because we lose sight

of our mission.

Your life after conversion

is not a victory lap.

You're still in the race.

Your mission is not yet complete.

The confetti is not falling.

You're not supposed to loiter around

until you die and go to heaven.

I don't know if you have ever been

given a trust or responsibility

that you felt was so weighty

and important

that you felt honored by it.

Maybe you were selected

to give a graduation speech

as a representative of your class.

Maybe it was when you first

held a child in your arms.

Maybe it was when you were given

a special assignment by your boss

or by your advisor.

Brothers and sisters,

this is the greatest honor

of a Christian's life.

Our mission is to know Christ

and to make Him known.

To treasure Christ

and to trumpet Him to the world.

The risen Lord Jesus Christ,

whose name is exhausted

above every other name,

has given us personally

a mission to fulfill.

We are witnesses of the Lord Jesus.

We are ambassadors

of the kingdom of God.

And don't think that the apostles

were special, extraordinary men.

The apostles were ordinary men.

Acts chapter 4 verse 13

Acts 4:13

says that they were uneducated,

common men.

Not only that,

they were sinful men.

Men who often failed

to grasp the significance

of Jesus' teachings.

Men who made many mistakes.

And yet our merciful Lord

gave them their sacred trust.

And He extends that same trust

to bumbling disciples like us.

That He showed...

I feel that keenly

every time I stand on this pulpit

because it was enough mercy

for Him to save me.

That was more than enough.

And He could have said to me,

Sean, now that I've saved you,

just stay back

and don't mess up

anything I'm doing.

But instead, He says,

Sean, can you go

and shepherd my flock?

The precious ones

I purchased with my own blood.

Sean, can you go

and preach the good news

of the kingdom of God?

Brothers and sisters,

the Lord Jesus says

also to you,

here is my gospel,

the pearl of greatest prize,

the most precious treasure.

Will you steward it?

Will you share it

that others too

may be lifted out

of their poverty

of sin and shame?

Here is my

emancipation proclamation,

the only message

that can redeem people

from their slavery to sin.

Can you go

and break the chains

of my children?

Brothers and sisters,

in your home,

at your school,

at your workplace,

in your neighborhood,

among the nations,

you have a most weighty

and glorious mission

in Jesus Christ.

Do you remember it?

Do you remember it?

If that makes you,

if you're champing

at the bit to go

when you hear that,

that's probably

how the apostles felt too.

They just witnessed

Jesus' resurrection.

They're about to witness

his ascension to heaven.

You'd think they would be

antsy and anxious

to tell everyone

about what they have seen.

But Jesus tells them

to hold their horses.

He says in verses 4 to 5,

While staying with them,

Jesus ordered them

not to depart from Jerusalem,

but to wait

for the promise

of the Father,

which he said,

You heard from me,

for John baptized with water,

but you will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now.

Why does Jesus do this?

He feels like

calling a timeout

when your team is on a roll

and scoring all the points.

You just was raised

from the dead,

they couldn't stop you.

Why must we wait?

It's because until Jesus

ascends to the right hand

of the Father,

the Spirit of God

cannot descend.

Because as Jesus said

in John 16, verse 7,

John 16:7

If I do not go away,

the Helper will not come to you,

but if I go,

I will send Him to you.

It's only as the risen

and ascended Lord

that Jesus has the authority

to send the Holy Spirit.

And this is why

He spends 40 days on earth

after His resurrection,

appearing to His disciples

and speaking about

the kingdom of God.

Jesus' wilderness temptation

in Luke chapter 4

Luke 4 · chapter mention

was 40 days.

Israel wandered in the wilderness

for 40 years

before coming into

the promised land.

The 40 days leading up

to the final stage

of Jesus'

This 40 days

is what's leading up

to the final stage

of Jesus' inauguration.

His ascension to the throne.

His full reign

over His people.

And when He ascends,

Jesus fully comes

into His kingdom

over the church,

over His people

as the Messianic King.

And from there,

He reigns and sends His Spirit

to empower His believers.

And it's imperative

that the apostles wait for that.

Because without the Holy Spirit,

they cannot accomplish

their mission.

They must first,

it says,

be baptized

with the Holy Spirit.

This is an allusion

to Luke 3.16

where John the Baptist

spoke of how Jesus,

who was to come after Him,

would baptize people

in the Spirit and fire.

To baptize literally means

to immerse.

Just as John

literally immersed

people in water,

signifying their repentance,

Jesus will figuratively

immerse people

with the Holy Spirit

and fire,

pointing to the cleansing

and purifying work

of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit

who sanctifies us,

consecrates us

for His God's special purposes.

And not only that,

it's the Spirit

who empowers us

for His mission.

Jesus says in verse 8,

but you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit

has come upon you.

Without this power,

the apostles are impotent,

incapable of doing

what Jesus has commissioned

them to do.

in Ezekiel 37,

God paints a dramatic picture

of the Holy Spirit's power.

God brings prophet Ezekiel

and sets him down

in the middle of a valley

full of bones,

very dry bones,

it says,

which means these people

have been dead

for a long time.

And God commands Ezekiel,

prophesy over these bones

and say to them,

O dry bones,

hear the word of the Lord.

It's the toughest

preaching assignment

you can receive.

Tell dry bones

to hear the word of the Lord.

And yet,

when Ezekiel prophesies

over them,

the bones start to rattle

and come together,

sinews and flesh

start to appear,

skin starts to cover

over them.

And God commands Ezekiel,

prophesy to the breath.

Breath is the same word

as spirit in Hebrew.

Prophesy to the breath,

thus says the Lord God,

come from the four winds,

O breath,

and breathe on these slain

that they may live.

And when the breath of God

enters what was once

dry bones,

the breath came into them

and they lived

and stood on their feet

an exceedingly great army.

And afterward,

God explains to Ezekiel,

these bones

are the whole house

of Israel.

Behold,

they say,

our bones are dried up

and our hope is lost.

We are indeed cut off.

Therefore,

prophesy and say to them,

thus says the Lord God,

behold,

I will open your graves

and raise you

from your graves,

O my people.

And I will put

my spirit within you

and you shall live.

There can be

no spiritual quickening,

no spiritual awakening

apart from the Spirit of God.

Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2:1

verse 1 says

that all unbelievers

are dead

in their trespasses

and sins.

And preaching

to dead people

is futile.

Now,

I guarantee you

that at the end

of that prophetic vision,

Ezekiel was not

patting himself

on the back

thinking what a great

preacher he was.

Look at me.

Look at these bones

coming together.

But isn't that exactly

what we do sometimes?

It's easy for us

mistakenly to think

that people are saved

by the eloquence

of our preaching,

the zeal

of our evangelism,

the efficiency

of our organization,

or the brilliance

of our strategies,

but souls

are never

saved by such things.

When a spiritually

dead person

is made alive

in Christ,

when a spiritually

blind person

is made to see,

it is always

the mighty work

of the Spirit

of God.

And so Jesus

doesn't tell

the apostles,

hey,

go and brainstorm

for a little while,

come up with

a five-year plan

for world domination.

No,

he tells them,

go,

wait

for the Holy Spirit.

Because the Holy Spirit

is the power

for Christian mission.

Now look at the purview

of Christian mission

in verses 6 to 11.

In verse 6,

the apostles

start to wonder,

Lord,

will you at this time

restore the kingdom

to Israel?

They thought

Israel's hope

had been dashed

with the death

of Jesus,

but now that he

has risen from the dead,

they were beginning

to entertain thoughts

of a national revolution

and a political

hegemony again.

Jesus had already

corrected this

misunderstanding

in Luke chapter 17,

Luke 17 · chapter mention

20 to 21,

when the Pharisees

asked him,

when the kingdom

of God would come,

Jesus answered them,

the kingdom of God

is not coming

in ways that can

be observed,

nor will they say,

look,

here it is,

or there,

for behold,

the kingdom of God

is in the midst

of you.

In other words,

the kingdom of God

is unobservable

to the physical eye,

yet already

the kingdom of God

is in our midst,

it's among us,

wherever Christ

and his followers are,

wherever Christ the king

and his subjects are,

that is where

the kingdom of God

is,

because the kingdom

of God

is the dominion

of the realm

of God's rule.

sometimes we too

can be tempted

to speak of the kingdom

of God

in geopolitical terms.

In much the same way,

the ancient Jews

expected the establishment

of the kingdom of God

through the overthrow

of the Roman Empire.

But the kingdom of God

does not come

in observable ways.

No matter how Christian

its history

and values are,

and no matter how Christian

the United States

becomes,

this country

or any other country

for that matter

will never be

the kingdom of God.

Rather,

the kingdom of God

becomes manifest

when we live

in submission

to God's rule

as his people.

And this kingdom

continues to grow

and spread

until it takes hold

among every nation

on earth.

And then Christ the king

will return in glory

to consummate his kingdom.

over all the earth.

And until that time,

political power

or military triumph

is not the lot

of God's people.

So Jesus gently redirects them

in verses 7 to 8.

It is 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 in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the end

of the earth.

They will receive power,

all right,

but not the power

to crush Roman armies,

not the power

for political domination,

not the power

to rule over the heathens,

but the power

to bear witness

to Jesus

among them.

Jesus masterfully

adjusts the worldly

dynamics of power

that the apostles

had uncritically accepted.

Furthermore,

Jesus tells us

that it is not for us

to know

when the end will be.

Instead of being

unduly preoccupied

with predicting the end,

we should be occupied

with bearing faithful witness

till the end.

As Matthew 24,

Matthew 24:14

verse 14 says,

And this gospel

of the kingdom

will be proclaimed

throughout the whole world

as a testimony

to all nations,

and then the end

will come.

The focus should be

on what Christ

commands us to do

in the meanwhile

and not on when

Christ will return.

We know that

Christ will return

and that's enough.

We do not need

to know when.

And this is what

Jesus commands us

to be my witnesses,

he says.

A witness affirms

or attests

to something,

something outside

of themselves.

Followers of Christ

are commanded

to attest to

and give testimony

regarding the person

and work

of Jesus Christ.

His life,

his death,

his resurrection,

his ascension.

Our mission

is not to create

platforms for ourselves

to rise to prominence

ourselves,

to proclaim ourselves

and our experiences.

But it is to make

Christ prominent,

to proclaim Christ,

who he is

and what he has done.

And we can't forget this,

brothers and sisters,

we're not the saviors

of this world.

Christ is the savior

that this world needs

and our task

is to point the world

to him,

the only person

who can save.

It is not our job

to save this world.

That's what we're witnesses.

Christ is on trial

before the eyes

of our neighbors.

Christ is on trial

before the eyes

of the watching world.

And they're asking,

is Jesus

who he really claimed to be?

Is Jesus really

the messianic king?

Is Jesus really

the son of God?

Is Jesus really

the lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world?

Can Jesus

give me hope

and cleanse me

from my sins?

Can Jesus

reconcile me

to God?

The world

is literally

dying

before our eyes.

And worse,

they are perishing

forever,

spiritually.

Spiritually.

And there are those

who perish

even now

without hearing

one witness.

Stand up for Christ

and say,

yes,

I know this Jesus.

He is my Lord

and King

and he is everything

he says he is.

this is why

we have to go

and make disciples

of all nations.

He has asked us

be my witnesses.

And where should we go?

Jesus tells us

you will be my witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the end

of the earth.

This verse functions

as the thesis statement

of the entire book.

The entire Gospel of Luke

had a movement

toward Jerusalem

where climactically

Jesus would die

and be raised

from the dead.

And then the entire

book of Acts

is a movement

away from Jerusalem.

Following

the apostles

for spreading

the good news

of Jesus

from Jerusalem

to Judea and Samaria

and to the end

of the earth.

The mission

of the church

begins in Jerusalem

because that's where

Joel chapter 2

Joel 2:32

verse 32

prophesied

that the promised

Holy Spirit

would come.

Jerusalem,

the ancient capital

of Judah,

the city of David,

where the temple

of God is,

the very center

of Jewish worship.

This is,

that's the origin

from which the reign

of Christ,

the Messiah,

the ultimate king

spreads.

Then it moves

to all Judea and Samaria

which includes

the territories

that were once

part of the southern

kingdom of Judah

and the northern

kingdom of Israel

after the division

during the days

of Rehoboan.

And then the end

of the earth,

finally,

is the known

inhabited world.

At the time,

Acts was written

that was considered

to be

Scythia to the north,

Ethiopia to the south,

which is modern-day

Sudan,

Spain to the west,

and India and China

to the east.

And since Luke

explicitly mentions

Philip's ministry

to the Ethiopian eunuch

in Acts 8,

and since Paul

mentions the Scythians

in Colossians 3.11

and also expresses

his desire to go

to Spain

in Romans 15,

it seems that the

apostles took this

command quite literally

that they were to go

to the end of the earth,

as far as they

possibly can go.

And if they did this

on foot,

with their limited

understanding of

world geography,

we who have uncovered

the farthest extremities

of earth

have no reason

not to go.

But this commission

is not merely

geographical in scope,

it's also ethnic.

As I mentioned earlier,

Jerusalem was a center

of Jewish worship.

And further out,

in all Judea and Samaria,

you found more folk

and syncretistic

expressions of Jewish faith.

For example,

Samaria was the capital

of the northern kingdom

of Israel,

and that name,

Samaria,

gets sometimes used

to refer to the entire

northern kingdom.

And when the Assyrians

captured Samaria

in 722 B.C.,

they deported

all the Israelites

of substance and means

and then settled

the rest of the land

with foreigners.

And these foreigners

then intermarried

with the Jews

who were left there,

leading to a form

of syncretized religion.

And because of this,

Jews,

who had been deported

and then later returned

to their homeland

from exile,

they viewed

these Samaritans

not only as children

of political rebels,

compromisers,

but also as racial

half-breeds

and syncretistic,

adulterated believers.

But the apostles

are called to go

even to the Samaritans.

And then finally,

the end of the earth.

This is where you find

the Gentiles,

the pagans

who are farthest

removed

from the Jewish faith.

That was me

and many of you.

That this ethnic scope

is in view here

is confirmed

by the Messianic prophecy

of Isaiah 49,

Isaiah 49:6

verse 6,

which Acts 1a

alludes to.

It says,

It is too light a thing

that you should be

my servant

to raise up

the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back

the preserved

of Israel.

I will make you

as a light

for the nations,

some translations

say to the Gentiles,

that my salvation

may reach

to the end

of the earth.

Reaching the end

of the earth

means to go

to the nations.

And that word nation

refers to ethnic

people groups.

This is also confirmed

by the parallel

in Luke chapter 24,

Luke 24:47

verse 47,

where Jesus says

that He died and rose

so that repentance

for the forgiveness

of sins

should be proclaimed

in His name

to all nations

beginning from Jerusalem.

Once again,

referring to ethnic

people groups.

So this command

to be Christ's witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the end

of the earth

not only traverses

geographic boundaries,

but it also

transgresses

ethnic divisions.

this is why

as a church

we pray each month

for a specific

people group

of a country.

For the Sheikh

people in Bangladesh,

the Sunda people

in Indonesia,

the Persian people

in Iran,

the Bammar people

in Myanmar,

the Hausa people

in Nigeria,

and so on.

All of these

people groups

we pray for

are considered

unreached

or least reached,

which means

no more than

2% of their

population

are gospel-believing

Christians,

which means

they lack

the sheer numbers

and the resources

necessary.

they need

witnesses of

Jesus

to be sent

among them.

And I pray

that God

sends more

laborers

into that

harvest

even from

among us.

This is the

purview of

Christian mission.

Our mission

is global

in scope

because it

is too

small a

thing

for the

Lord Jesus

who is

exalted

above

every other

name

to save

the Jews

only,

to rule

over

Israel

only.

He will

instead

save

and reign

over Jews,

Samaritans,

and Gentiles,

people from

all the

nations.

We live

in Cambridge

in Boston,

the Jerusalem

of modern

education.

And because

of this,

we have

people from

these very

unreached

people groups

coming into

our city

from all

over the

world.

The nations

are among

us and so

let's be

faithful to

bear witness

to them.

The fact

that we

live in a

highly transient

city also

presents a

unique opportunity

for us

as long as

we remember

that our

identity

is as

witnesses

of Jesus,

that we

are sent

ones.

So if

you're not

here for

a time

just to

get your

degree

or finish

your

research

or project

or to

work a

job

until you

move to

the next

step,

while you're

here,

you are

witnesses

of Jesus

Christ.

And when

you leave

this place,

you are not

just going to

another place

to do

something else,

you're also

sent out

there as

witnesses

of Jesus

Christ.

And after

giving the

apostles this

charge,

Jesus ascends

to heaven

in verses

9 to

11,

and when

he has

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 was taken

up from you

into heaven

will come

in the same

way as

you saw

him go

into heaven.

This verse

intentionally

parallels the

account of the

transfiguration in

Luke chapter

Luke 9 · chapter mention

9,

where his

clothing also

became dazzling

white.

He was joined

by two men

there,

and then a

cloud came and

overshadowed

them.

And the

difference is that

the transfiguration

was only for a

moment,

but at his

ascension,

Jesus is

translated into

glory permanently.

And Jesus'

ascension is the

guarantee that he

will return in

glory in the

same way he

went up.

And that

reality should

give us hope

as we bear

witness to

Jesus,

because though

we might be

rejected,

and we will

be,

though people

might not

believe us,

though people

might persecute

us,

we bear witness

knowing that

Christ will

return to

vindicate us.

He will come

back in glory.

And that brings

me to my

final point,

prayer and

Christian mission.

Please follow

along with me

as I read

verses 12 to

14.

Then they

returned to

Jerusalem from

the mount

called Olivet,

which is near

Jerusalem, a

Sabbath day's

journey away.

And when they

had entered,

they went up to

the upper room

where they were

staying, Peter

and John and

James and

Andrew, Philip

and Thomas,

Bartholomew and

Matthew, James

the son of

Alphaeus and

Simon the

Zealot, and

Judas the son

of James.

All these,

with one

accord, were

devoting

themselves to

prayer, together

with the woman

and Mary, the

mother of Jesus,

and his

brothers.

After Jesus

then sends to

heaven on the

Mount of Olives,

the apostles make

their way back to

their abode in

Jerusalem, wherever

they were staying

in Jerusalem.

And then they

head up into the

upper room where

they were staying.

It's possible that

this is the same

upper room where

Jesus had the

Last Supper, but

Luke does not

specify, and there

were many such

upper rooms, so

it's impossible to

say for sure.

But what's

important is what

they do there.

And it says what

they're doing as

they're waiting for

the Holy Spirit in

Jerusalem.

It says in verse

14, all these with

one accord were

devoting themselves

to prayer.

The verb

devote means to be

busily engaged in

something.

Too often, we as

modern believers are

too busily engaged in

other activities to

pray.

But the earliest

believers were

devoting themselves

to prayer.

What would your

biographer say that

you were devoted to

in life?

That you were

devoted to your

spouse, your kids,

your work, your

studies, to a

hobby, a football

team, sports?

Traveling?

Drinking?

What would a

historian writing

about our church

one day say we

were devoted to?

The early believers

were devoted to

prayer.

And they were also

doing this with one

accord.

It says in unity,

not only together in

one place, but also

together in one

heart and one

mind.

If you remember from

the Gospel of Luke,

before every pivotal

moment of Jesus' life

and ministry, Luke

tells us that Jesus

was praying before

he's baptized and the

Spirit of God

descends on him and

the Father speaks of

him saying, this is my

beloved Son in whom

I am well pleased.

Jesus is praying

before that.

Before he chooses

his twelve apostles,

Jesus is praying.

Before he teaches

them how to pray with

the Lord's Prayer,

Jesus is praying.

Before Peter's

breakthrough confession

that Christ, Jesus

is the Christ of God,

Jesus was praying.

Before the

transfiguration and

his transform

into glory, Jesus

was praying.

And before his

betrayal and death,

Jesus was praying.

And Luke is going

to continue that

emphasis throughout

the book of Acts.

And once again, we

see here, before the

descent of the Holy

Spirit to empower the

church for mission,

prayer.

And the believers

are not just waiting

about doing nothing.

They are devoting

themselves to prayer.

Prayer is a

hallmark of faith.

It's one of our

greatest Christian

vocations.

None of us are

apostles.

Yet all of us can

pray like the woman

disciples that are

mentioned here.

And Mary, the mother

of Jesus and his

brothers who are

praying with the

apostles.

Not everyone can be

preachers and pastors,

yet all of us can

pray.

And as the 19th

century English

pastor Charles Spurgeon

puts it, prayer is

the slender nerve that

moves the muscle of

omnipotence.

successful Christian

missions work is

never a calculable

result, a

predictable result of

correct methods and

strategies.

It is always the

sovereign work of the

Holy Spirit.

And for that reason,

it is always the

fruit of concerted

prayer.

So missiologist

Wilbert Schenk puts it

this way.

Missionary obedience

is first of all an

act of submission to

the leadership of the

Holy Spirit.

Strategic thinking

ought to begin and

end with the

prayer, your will be

done.

And that's my prayer

this evening.

That we would bear

witness to Jesus

Christ to the end of

the earth by the power

of the Holy Spirit

and that we would be

a people who devote

ourselves to pray in

preparation for that,

for the empowerment

that we need for that.

Let's pray.

God, we do seek this

power.

Lord, please wake us up

to our senses to realize

how impotent we are,

how futile all our

endeavors are apart from

the empowering work of

your Holy Spirit.

Grant us that power,

Lord.

Fill us with your Spirit,

Lord.

Move us to prayer,

Lord.

That we might bear

witness to the name of

Jesus to the end of the

earth.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.