JANUARY 12, 2025 - "Witnesses" Acts1:6-11

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This morning We'll be in the book of Acts.

Last week we began our journey in the book of Acts.

Most of you in your Bibles, you will have the title of this book as the Acts of the Apostles.

And while we talked about this, this book does talk a lot about the actions of the apostles, including Paul, after the ascension of Christ to the Father we talked about.

That's not all that this book does.

And Tony Morita, he suggests entitling this book the Acts of Jesus Christ.

The Acts of Jesus Christ through the apostles and the church, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, while that's a long title, I think that's a very fitting title.

What we're going to find throughout this book is not just the actions of the apostles, but what we're going to find is the actions of Jesus through the lives of the apostles, through the lives of the early church, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's what we're going to see happening.

And Jesus, he prepared the disciples for this.

If you'll remember, when we were back in the Gospel of John, chapter 16, jesus said this to the disciples.

John 16 · chapter mention

He said Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment Concerning sin because they do not believe in me.

Concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.

And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me, he will take what is mine and declare to you.

So Jesus, even in the gospel, before he has gone to the Father, if you remember, through our study of the gospel of John, in these last several chapters, jesus, from about chapter 12 to the crucifixion, it's right at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, and Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure when he goes away, not just for when he dies, but he's preparing them for his ascension.

And that's where we are now.

And so he is preparing them and telling them that he is going to go away, but his work is going to continue, but it's going to look differently.

It's going to look differently because he is sending another.

He is sending another we talked about this word, advocate or paraclete One who comes alongside.

So he is sending someone else who, just as Jesus, has walked along beside the apostles leading them.

Another is coming.

We know that's the Holy Spirit, and he is going to come and walk beside them.

So what the book of Acts is is Jesus' words playing out in real time.

It's exactly what Jesus told the apostles were going to happen.

That is what is happening in the book of Acts.

That's what is happening, and so what we need to understand and what we can see here is this is the plan from the beginning.

Nothing has surprised God.

The crucifixion wasn't a surprise.

The resurrection wasn't a surprise.

The ascension is not a surprise.

None of this has surprised God.

It has been his plan from the beginning.

Listen, I don't know if you know this about me, but I like to have a plan.

I don't always get to do it, okay, and sometimes I just have to go with it, but I like to have a plan.

I even like to have a contingency plan.

Let me tell you about today.

Thursday morning, we had a staff meeting.

We don't have a long staff meeting, but on Thursdays we have just a short staff get-together to talk about what's going to happen on Sunday.

And so we were sitting in that meeting and I told them.

I said, look, I'm telling y'all this is what I think is going to happen.

I think it's going to snow tonight and tomorrow and it's going to be really pretty and we're going to get to play in the snow, and Saturday it's going to melt and we're going to have church on Sunday.

So y'all better be ready to have church on Sunday.

Now, while I'm saying that, I need you to know what I did on Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday afternoon, mark Lewis and I recorded a sermon, just in case.

So, listen, we had a plan.

We had a plan to come to church, but I also had a contingency plan.

Listen, let me tell you, god doesn't need a contingency plan.

This was his plan.

This was the plan all along that Jesus was going to come, that he was going to die, that he was going to arise.

He was going to come back for 40 days and be with the apostles and teach them of the kingdom of God.

He is going to ascend to the Father.

He was going to send the Holy Spirit and the church was going to spread throughout the world through the lives of the apostles and the church by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That was the plan.

He didn't need a contingency.

That was the plan.

And so what we can learn from the book of Acts is this God's providence is still at work.

His plan is still working out.

It's not a contingency.

He's not on plan B or C or whatever.

He is still on plan A and it is still carrying out.

And so what we need to do is we need to trust in his providence.

What we're going to see in our passage today is that, while the disciples, they were concerned about other things, they were concerned about when Jesus was going to come back and restore the kingdom of Israel.

That was their concern.

But Jesus is telling them you don't need to be concerned about that.

You need to be telling people about me.

See, jesus has been back.

We saw last week that Jesus had been with the disciples After the resurrection.

He had come and he had been with the disciples after the resurrection.

He had come and he had been with them for 40 days and he was teaching them about the kingdom of god, and they were all for it.

They were ready for that to happen, and can you blame them?

I'm ready for it to happen too.

But jesus has come and said look, right now, that's not the concern.

You are my witnesses.

You are my witnesses.

You are to be bearing witness about me.

Listen in church for us today until Christ's return.

We need to understand through this passage and I think we will that we are witnesses about Jesus in the Spirit's power.

And if we are witnesses in the Spirit's power and if we are witnesses in the Spirit's power, what we need to do is we need to rely on the Spirit as we testify about Jesus.

So the question that we want to answer today is this what was Jesus' concern for the apostles as he went to the Father?

What was Jesus' concern for the apostles as he went to the father?

What was jesus concern for the apostles as he ascended to the father?

If you're able to, this morning, stand with me as we give honor to the reading of god's word, acts, chapter one.

We're going to start reading in verse six.

So when they had come together.

They asked him 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, 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 While they were gazing into the 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 taking up from you into heaven, will come in the same way.

Let's pray together.

God, we thank you.

We thank you for today and, spirit, we thank you that you have come to be our helper, to walk along beside us and, as we read in John already, that you will guide us in all truth.

So, as we open and study your word today, jesus, as we explore how you continue to work, how you continue to work after your ascension in the New Testament, but how you still continue to work today, god Spirit, we pray that you will lead us in all truth.

Now, god, we pray that our lives will be to the honor and glory of you.

We love you, jesus.

It's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So again, the question that we're looking for today is what was Jesus' concern for the apostles as he went to the Father?

Well, the first thing that we see here is his concern was not his return, his concern, that wasn't what he was worried about.

See, that's where the disciples were.

We see right there in verse 6, they come to him and they say Jesus, it's now the time that you're going to restore the kingdom of Israel.

It's now the time that you're going to make things right.

Because they knew Jesus was coming back.

He had already told them Even in the Old Testament.

They knew that God was going to come back one day and he was going to restore and make all things right.

They knew that was going to happen.

And we saw just in verse 5, verse 3, I mean how he had been presented himself alive for them for 40 days and he was speaking about the kingdom of God.

We've seen Jesus doing this, and so they were all in.

They were ready for that to happen.

And can you blame them?

Look, I'm ready for that too.

I'm waiting on Christ's return, but that was not His major concern at this point.

That was not what he was worried about.

See, there's some things that we need to understand.

Look at the difference of verse 6 and verse 3.

In verse 6, it says that Jesus is teaching them about the kingdom of God.

In verse 6, they were asking if he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel.

Listen, while these can be and that's a discussion for another day of how these look alike and how these two can be the same thing let's understand what was happening here.

They were looking for the nation of Israel to be restored.

What Jesus is talking about is he is coming and he is bringing the kingdom of God.

And what we see about the kingdom of God?

The kingdom of God is a kingdom with no borders.

It is not a geopolitical place where people go to.

What the kingdom of God is is when God is ruling and when he is reigning in the lives of people.

So we are in the kingdom of God when we are followers of His.

His kingdom has no borders.

His kingdom today can be right here in DeSoto Hills Baptist Church, and His kingdom, at the same time, is in the lives of believers across the world, in China, god's kingdom.

It expands and it is expansive, and it is not a nationality that Jesus is coming to restore, it is His people, it is His reign.

What we also understand about this kingdom of God is that it is a present reality, but it is also a not yet reality.

Listen, in a very real sense.

Hear me.

If you are a believer today, if you have trusted Christ with your life, you are part of the kingdom of God.

Not tomorrow, today, not in years to come.

Today, jesus, when he came and when he walked upon this earth, and when he died on the cross and when he arose, he brought the kingdom of God with him.

And so, as believers, we can experience the kingdom of God today, right now.

But at the same time, there is a not yet reality to the kingdom, because while we experience the kingdom and we are part of the kingdom, it is not yet fully realized, but a day is coming when we will.

We just sang about it.

I will rise.

I will rise.

No more sorrow, no more pain.

The day is coming when all things will be right, we don't hurt, we don't mourn, there's no more crying, there's no more crying, there's no more sadness, because we will experience the full reality of God's kingdom.

So there is a present, but not yet reality to God's kingdom.

And so his concern, jesus' concern with the apostles and their lives right now, was not that, hey, you need to know when, when I'm coming back and when all this is going to happen.

Your concern is being witnesses.

We're going to get there in a minute, but that's that's the concern.

So if that's the concern, if that, if his concern is not not returning, what?

What is the father's concern?

Listen, we here's some things that we need to understand about God and about His plan.

We say things about God all the time.

We use descriptive words of God, and sometimes they're very churchy words, I understand.

We use words like omnipotent.

You know what omnipotent means?

It means God is all-powerful.

Whatever God says he is going to do, he is able to do it In His own power, in His own strength.

It means that there is no one or no thing that can compare to the power of God, because he has power over everything.

He is omnipotent.

We say things like God is omniscient.

So what that means is he knows all things.

He knows everything.

He knows what we're thinking.

He knows what we thought.

He knows what we're going to think.

He knows how we're acting.

He knows what we're going to think.

He knows how we're acting.

He knows how we're going to act.

He knows how we acted.

He knew about Adam and Eve.

He knows all things.

He is all wise.

There is nothing that surprises Him.

There is nothing that happens that God didn't know about.

He is omnipresent, which means he is all places at all times, all places at all times.

That doesn't just mean that, just as he is, just as we talked about, he is here and at the same time, he is across the world.

It means he is here and he is in the beginning.

It means he is here and he is in the beginning.

It means he is here and he is at the return.

He is all places at all times.

He is outside of time.

So he sees it all, he knows it all.

He has the power to do it all.

So hear me, hear me when I say this when Jesus comes and he says, he says it is not for you to know, it is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

What he is telling them is you should not be concerned about when I'm going to come back.

God has that handled by his authority, because he is all those things that we just described by his authority, by who God is.

He has set everything in motion.

He has it planned out.

He has it working.

He doesn't have contingency plans, as we said.

He doesn't have contingency plans.

As we said, he doesn't need them.

His plan is being carried out the way he has planned it to be carried out, and what we need to do is not be concerned about all those details.

What we need to do is trust in his providence, trust that his plan is in motion and we need to live in that plan and we need to live in that plan.

His concern is not about the details of when he's going to come and return and make everything right.

His concern is how we live in the kingdom now.

He goes on and says as much in verse 8 when he says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses.

There's his concern, here's the concern of Jesus as he ascends to the Father, that you are his witnesses.

Now, at the most basic level, we need to understand what a witness is.

Look, you've seen enough police shows and enough courtroom shows probably movies to know what a witness is.

When they call a witness, or when you go to court and you call a witness, what are they coming to do?

They're coming to bear testimony about the things that they've seen and the things that they know.

They're coming to speak about a topic of which they know, about what they've seen.

That's what a witness does, and so what Jesus is telling them as right before he ascends to the Father, is he is telling them that you are my witnesses, you are to go and you are to bear testimony.

You are to speak about what you have seen in me, what I have taught you, what you know in me.

You are to go and you are to share that as my witnesses.

Another aspect of this word witness that that we need to understand.

We talked about this a few weeks ago when, uh, when we were looking in first corinthians, the, the greek root that that we get the word witness here is the same root that we get the word martyr.

We're not saying witness is going to be easy.

We're not saying that it's always going to Listen.

Sometimes bearing witness about what Jesus has done and who he is comes with a cost.

Now listen, I know here in the United States we really don't face a lot of persecution for bearing witness about Jesus.

But listen, there are places all over the world today, today, that people face real persecution for speaking about Jesus and the apostles.

Jesus knew that they were going to face that.

John MacArthur said this about the apostles.

He said their blood, as the second century theologian Tertullian stated, became the seed of the church.

Many were drawn to faith in Christ by observing how calmly and joyously Christians met their death and joyously Christians met their death.

Listen, being a witness requires sacrifice.

Sometimes it requires cost, but what Jesus is telling them is that they are to bear witness and that witness and understand here.

He doesn't say that you're going to become witnesses.

Hear what he says about it again.

Let me read it again.

I'm going to read this verse a whole lot today, so be ready.

He says you will be my witnesses.

He didn't say you're going to become my witnesses.

He didn't say you're going to grow into it.

Hear what he said To the apostles.

He said because you know me and because you have this relationship with me, because you have trusted me, you will be my witnesses.

And church.

We need to hear this message today.

It is not that we will become witnesses, hear me, we are witnesses.

Now, I know that we are not like the apostles and we haven't personally seen Jesus.

Okay, but we do bear witness about what Jesus has done in our lives.

We do bear witness, we are able to testify and give testimony about who Jesus is and how he has revealed himself in Scripture to us.

We can bear witness about he has made us from taking us from death to life.

We are able to bear witness about what we have seen and what he has done in our lives.

And hear me, church, as followers, as believers this is what he's saying.

We are witnesses.

The question is, what kind of witnesses are we listen, when I was in high school and it wasn't just, it wasn't just a one-time thing, this happened several occasions, but there would, there would be times our football team, we, we would go somewhere as a team, baseball team would go somewhere as a team.

It even happens sometimes on a field trip or something like that, and the teacher or coach or whoever took us.

It was very frequent that they would stand up and they would give a speech kind of like this hey, listen, we're about to get off this bus and we're about to go into this restaurant museum, wherever we were going.

We're about to go in here and there's some things that you need to understand.

You need to understand that you are representatives of certain people.

You need to understand that you are a representative of your family.

When you go into this place and people see you, if they know you, they're going to going to know who your mom and dad are and you are representing them.

You are representing what kind of people they are and how they raised you.

You need to understand when you go in here, you represent them.

Number two, they would say you represent me as your coach or teacher or whatever.

You're representing me and you're representing the influence that I have on your life.

So when you go in here, you need to understand how you act reflects on me.

And third, they would say, because I was at South Pontotoc, he said you're representing your school.

We have cougar pride.

You need to take that cougar pride and you need to go in this place and you need to leave this place and people think well of South Pontotoc because of how you have acted.

You are representatives, whether you like it or not, listen.

Listen, what Jesus has just told the apostles is you are witnesses, whether you like it or not.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you are a believer in Jesus, you are a witness.

And just as back in school we had the choice of whether we were going to be good representatives or not, of whether we were going to be good representatives or not, we still have that choice of what kind of witness we are going to be, but we don't have a choice of whether we're going to be witnesses or not.

We are.

The question is, what kind of witness are we going to be?

So he says we are witnesses, and while that frightens a lot of us, because you say, grant, I don't talk to people, I'm too shy.

Grant, I'm an introvert, I don't do that.

That's your job, listen, you are called to be a witness.

But what we have hope in in our witness is it is not dependent upon me, it's not dependent upon how good of a speaker that I am.

It's not dependent upon how good of a speaker you are.

It's not dependent upon how much school that you've had.

It's not dependent on how many times this year you've read your Bible.

It's not dependent upon how many Sunday school classes you've been to.

It's not dependent upon how many churches that you've been a part of.

It's not dependent upon how long you've gone to church without missing a Sunday.

It's not dependent upon any of that.

Our witness is dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

Listen again to verses 7 and 8.

I'm going to read them and I'm going to emphasize some words to you as we read this.

Listen.

He says this in verse 7.

He said to them it is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

We just talked about that.

His authority is all the omnis that we just talked about.

It's not for you to know those things.

But listen to this.

He says this.

But you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

So hear the power of our witness.

The same authority that has the right to set all things, seasons and times in place.

The same authority that knows it all on how to make the perfect plan that doesn't need contingencies because it is right every time.

That same authority is the same power that came upon the apostles for them to be witnesses.

That same power is the same power that we receive when we trust and give our lives to Jesus Christ.

We are witnesses, but we don't have to be reliant upon ourselves and who we are.

We are reliant upon Jesus Christ.

Then he tells us where to go.

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, judea, samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth.

Now some will argue that this is kind of the outline that we're going to find in the book of Acts.

We're going to see the apostles work in Jerusalem and then we're going to see them branch out into Judea and Samaria and then in the end of the book it's going to seem like a totally separate book because we're talking about Paul going all around the world.

We're going to see it and while that may be the outline of the book of Acts, I don't think that's the point here.

And I don't think the point is that first you're supposed to go to Jerusalem and once you reach Jerusalem, then you go to Judea and Samaria and then, once you reach them, then you go to the ends of the earth.

I don't think that's the point, because that's not what happened in Acts.

It's just how they wrote about it.

Here's what happens in Acts and this is what I think he tells us.

We are supposed to go everywhere at all times.

The gospel message is supposed to be everywhere at all times.

We are supposed to be spreading the gospel wherever we are.

If you are a believer, you are witnesses.

Where you are, bear witness.

If you're here, bear witness.

If you're across the world, bear witness wherever.

It doesn't mean that we do one, one, one.

It's not a step plan.

That's how we think.

That's how we had to write about it, but we are to go all places.

Last week, after the service, the Shands came up to me and told me about CrossCon that they went to with the college students last year, and one of the speakers was preaching on Acts 1-8.

He said this this is not an exact quote.

I hope I get close to it, but here's what he said we are to be witnesses to people like us, the people who don't like us and the people who we don't know yet.

We are witnesses, bear witness.

And then, finally, look at what he says here.

As he was telling them these things, it says in verse 9,.

And when he had said these things.

They were looking on him and he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.

It's like, as he arose, a cloud enveloped him and wrapped around him.

And it says in verse 10 that while they were standing, while they were gazing into the heaven as he went Listen, here's what happened with the apostles.

They were dumbfounded, and can you blame them, oh my stars?

Think about what's just happened in their lives.

They have dedicated their life to following this man.

They're still dealing with some of the emotional trauma of a death and resurrection that only happened a little over a month ago.

I mean, sometimes we separate those out and we think it's years, forty days when Jesus arose, to this day, where they're standing.

They're still dealing with that.

And then Jesus comes and tells them that they are to bear witness.

There are his witnesses All over the world.

How are they supposed to do that?

And then he tells them that and he leaves.

Yeah, they're dumbfounded, oh no, oh no.

What do we do now?

Says that two men in white then appeared to them and they said this.

They said men of galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven, this jesus, who is taking up from taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Can I give you the basic message here?

Can I simplify what he said to them?

Stop looking and go witness.

Stop looking and go be the witnesses that you are called to be.

Go Church.

Sometimes we can get in the same place.

Sometimes we get so caught up in.

This world is so horrible and so terrible.

I just can't wait for Jesus to get back and all that we do is start looking for Jesus to come back and forget that we are supposed to be witnesses in a dark world.

Yeah, while we expect and we anticipate Jesus coming back, the call.

The concern is that we are witnesses.

The concern is that we are witnesses.

Sometimes, though, sometimes, we get in a place where we just don't even care.

We get comfortable, we get lackadaisical, we get apathetic, whatever, and we forget we are witnesses.

Listen, let's be witnesses.

Let's be concerned with what Jesus is concerned with.

Let's do what Jesus has called us to do, because we are his witnesses, about to enter into a time of invitation.

Listen, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, I need you to hear this this morning you are not part of His kingdom.

One day he is going to come and he has established His kingdom.

He's brought it, and if you have never trusted Christ, you're not experiencing it now.

And listen, let me tell you this he's going to return and make all things right, and if you have never trusted Him, you are outside of the kingdom.

Things right.

And if you have never trusted him, you are outside of the kingdom.

You need to come, be a part.

Jesus came and he walked upon this earth and he died on the cross and he arose so you could be a part of the kingdom.

Today, you need to trust him.

As we sing this hymn of invitation in a minute, if you've never done that, we invite you to come forward.

We will be down here up front.

We would love to pray with you.

There are counselors who will take you out and talk with you about how you can trust Jesus as your savior and be a part of his kingdom.

Or maybe you have trusted in him but you have forgotten that you are a witness.

Maybe this morning you need to repent.

You need to repent for not trusting Him and not following Him and being concerned about the wrong things.

These steps are here.

They are an altar.

You can come and kneel at them and pray.

You can come.

We would love to pray with you.

However, god is working in you.

We invite you to come, repent and be the witnesses you're called to be.

Maybe this morning you're looking for a church home.

We would love to have you here at DeSoto Hills and maybe, just maybe, we can be witnesses together, as he's called us to be.

However, god is moving and working in your life.

I encourage you to come this morning.

I'm going to pray for us.

We'll sing a hymn as we're singing.

If you have a decision to make, do that then.

God, we love you.

We thank you for today.

We thank you for how you love us.

Jesus, we pray that this morning you will fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit and we will be witnesses, because you have made us witnesses.

Help us testify to what you have done in our lives and for those who don't know you, god, spirit, give them power to repent and become part of your kingdom.

God, whatever decision needs to be made here this morning, we pray that you work.

Spirit, you give the power that needs to be had and we make those decisions and follow you.

Thank you, jesus.

It's in your great name we pray this morning.

Amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at desotohillscom.