A Miraculous Encounter...

This week, as we continue looking at a letter in our Bible called the book of Acts, I would like for us to spend our time together by picking up where we left off last week. And as we look at these early followers of Jesus who had become a part of this new community called the church, we will enter into a miraculous story that reveals for us a timeless principle that is necessary to embrace in order to fully engage in the co-mission that we have been given by God to partner with God in a way that advances God’s kingdom mission as we reveal and reflect Christ to those around us. So let’s begin by looking at this miraculous story together, beginning in Acts 3:1:

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand how Jewish people worshipped in the first century. In the Jewish sacrificial system, there were two times every day that sacrifices were made to God for the sins of the people, one early in the morning and one in the in the late afternoon at 3 p.m. These sacrifices would be accompanied by a prayer service. Jewish people would travel to Jerusalem and then climb up one of several set of stairs that would lead them through a gate and onto the temple mount. Once on the temple mount, Peter and John would pass through what was called the court of the gentiles. You see, only Jewish people were allowed to enter the temple. Once in the temple, Peter and John would travel through the court of the women to the court of Israel, in order to watch the sacrifice and participate in the prayer service. Luke tells us that Peter and John entered into the temple by way of the beautiful gate, which most likely referred to what was called the Nicanor Gate. This gate was one of the most popular entrances to the temple mount, as the gate was lavishly designed and made with bronze.

And because this was the most popular entrances to the temple, those who were poor and in need would often gather there in order to beg for money. Luke explains that a man who was lame from his mother’s womb was at the entrance. Now this would have been a man who had never walked and had no way to earn a living. This was a man that was totally dependent on the generosity of other for his survival. So every day, this man would be carried to this gate and left there to spend his day attempting to earn his living by begging. And the 3 p.m. service was prime time for this man; the 3 p.m. service would be his best chance to have his needs met.

Now put yourself in the shoes of this man. You have never walked; you never will walk; and your life consists of begging for money. Every day consisted with you being stared at, or ignored, as you asked for money. How would you feel? And it is in this context that this man sees Peter and John approaching the gate to enter into the temple. Luke then records what happens next:

When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

As this lame beggar sees Peter and John, he begins his best sales pitch in order to receive some money to meet his needs. Something about Peter and John caught the attention of this beggar. And something about this beggar also attracted the attention of Peter and John, who stopped walking towards the temple and instead walked up to this beggar and demanded that the beggar pay attention to them. The beggar seeing an opportunity to have his needs met, focused his attention of Peter and John, anticipating a donation. But Peter and John respond in a way that this beggar did not expect, as we see in verse 6:

But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you:

To which the beggar probably thought “great; what are you gonna give me? Advice? I get plenty of advice? The name of a doctor? I mean, what are you going to give me that is going to help me?” The beggar then hears the following:

In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-- walk!"

Now place yourself in the shoes of this beggar. How would you respond? You have never walked before. Even if you thought it was possible, how are you going to walk? And are you going to believe this guy? Peter, however, does not wait for a response:

And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

This morning, can you imagine what that must have felt like? Imagine being someone that has never walked and then this guy who you have never met tells you to walk and then grabs you and lifts you to your feet. And you feel yourself spring to your feet. You then take that first tentative step. Then a second. Then you start walking; then running, then jumping up and down. You don’t care that you are right outside of church and that people are staring at you; you can walk. And you know that this is not something that any man has done, you know that God has entered into your story in a miraculous way. Can you imagine how you would respond? Luke tells us that the beggar responded by doing something that he had never done before, he walked himself into the temple with Peter and John jumping for joy and worshipping God.

Now imagine being a person that was in the temple courts that afternoon. Imagine the scene as you watched this man who had never walked get up and walk, run, leap and rejoice all the way into the temple. For years you had seen this man sitting outside the entrance to the temple begging for money. And now he is in the temple praising God with two guys who picked him up off of the ground and told him to walk. What would you be thinking? How would you respond?

Tomorrow, we will discover how the crowd responded and look at the decision that Peter and John were faced with....

God's CO:MISSION Requires Our Investment...

This week, we have been looking at the story of the birth of the church, where we see Luke, at the end of the second chapter of the Book of Acts, give us a glimpse into the life of the early church. And in this glimpse inside the church, we see Luke reveal to us God’s design for His new community called the church. In Acts 2:42-43, we saw that these early followers of Jesus intentionally gathered together corporately for times where they were able to hear the message and teachings of Jesus, spend time together in group and corporate prayer, and proclaim the message of the gospel through the celebration of communion. Today, we will see Luke reveal for us several additional practices that these early followers of Jesus embraced as part of a new community called the church in Acts 2:44-45:

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Luke continues by stating that these followers of Jesus were gathered together in community and were selling their property and possession and were sharing with them all as they had a need. Now many people have taken this passage and used it to promote communism or socialism. There is a significant problem with that view, however. The problem with that view is that no one was forcing people to redistribute their possessions and property. This was a voluntary action by these early followers of Jesus that focused on meeting the pressing and practical needs of those who were in need. What Luke is revealing for us here is that the church recognized the needs of the poor and marginalized in their midst and took the necessary steps to minister to those needs.

The early church recognized that everything that they had was a gift from God and they chose to respond to that gift by investing their time, talents, and treasure towards meeting the needs of others and advancing God’s kingdom mission. These early followers of Jesus responded to God’s generosity by reflecting that generosity to others and became the vehicle that God used to reveal His generosity to the world. And in the same way, as followers of Jesus that are a part of the community called the church, we are to engage in God’s co-mission by investing our time, our talents, and our treasure that God has so generously given us into His kingdom mission by ministering to the needs of those around us.

And this investment is not simply to be focused inward toward other followers of Jesus. We are to invest our time, talent, and treasure outward in a way that engages and invests in the lives of those who are in the community, but not a part of the community called the church. That is why the church where I serve engages in meeting practical needs of our community through the Emergency Assistance Window. That is why we are so passionate about our Saturday of service that is coming up. We are to be a “city in a city” that is loves and serves our city in real and practical ways to meet pressing needs in a way that opens opportunities to reveal a profound need for Christ as we reveal and reflect Christ. Luke then gives us an additional glimpse into the life of this new community called the church in Acts 2:46:

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

Here we see Luke reveal for us the reality that these early followers of Jesus not only to gathered together corporately once a week in a community that was marked by genuine and authentic unity. These early followers of Jesus also scattered throughout their community. Notice what Luke says in verse 46: "The church was day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house." The church is to gather and scatter. The church is to gather for large corporate times and is also to scatter into smaller groups within the community. And as these early followers of Jesus scattered into their communities, they continued to connect with one another in the areas of influence that they had throughout the community. These early followers of Jesus were doing life together.

In the culture of Jesus day, as it often is today, having people over for a meal was a sign of connection and community with one another. And as they scattered into smaller groups within the community of Jerusalem, these smaller groups were marked with gladness and sincerity of heart. The word gladness here refers to a sense of a fullness of joy. There was just an overflowing sense of happiness and peace that was unmistakable. And these scattered groups of early followers of Jesus were also marked by a sincerity of heart.

Now the word sincerity, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to have a sense of simplicity and generosity. These scattered groups of early followers of Jesus were characterized by transparency and generosity. There were no fronts; there was no need to put on heirs or a false impression. These were groups of people who lived authentic and generous lives that invested in one another and those around them.

This is why we believe so strongly in community groups at the church where I serve. Community groups afford the opportunity for us as followers of Jesus to scatter into the community and develop intentional environments where people can grow in their relationship with God while developing encouraging relationships that foster accountability and spiritual growth in the community. Community groups bring us into the areas of influence that God has placed us that are outside the four walls of the church. We are called by God to scatter into our communities so that we can be in a position to invest and invite people to be a part of what God is doing.

Luke then explains that these early followers of Jesus were praising God. These early followers of Jesus were responding to who God was, what He had done, and what He had promised to do by worshipping the Lord. And in the same way today, we are to respond to God’s transformational activity in our lives through Jesus Christ by living in a way that, whether we are gathered together corporately in community, or scattered into the community, is worthy of God as an act of worship to God that is pleasing to God.

You see, worship, simply put, is a response. Worship is a response that is focused on who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do. Worship is not simply singing, reading your Bible and prayer, although it can involve singing, Bible reading, and prayer. Worship is a lifestyle; worship is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that responds to God’s character and activity in the world.

But not only were they praising God; Luke tells us that these early followers of Jesus were having favor with all the people. The word favor here conveys the sense of winning the respect of others. These early followers of Jesus were respected by all the people; by believers and nonbelievers; by religious and irreligious; by seekers and skeptics. Regardless of whether they bought into the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, this new community called the church was respected by all the people.

And the respect that these early followers of Jesus had earned resulted in the opportunity for the church to engage in the kingdom mission that God gave the church to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the lost and hurting world and bring them into the relationship with God that they were created for. We see this reality revealed for us as Luke concludes chapter 2:

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Luke records for us that the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved. As these early followers of Jesus gathered together in community to hear the word of God, to pray for one another and to proclaim the message of the gospel through the celebration of communion; as these early followers of Jesus invested their talents and treasure serving God by serving others; as these early followers of Jesus scattered throughout the community into smaller groups that invested their time living life together in supportive and encouraging relationships that fostered spiritual growth and accountability, God’s transformational intervention and activity was impossible to ignore. Hearts were captured, lives were changed and transformed, and the number of people who became followers of Jesus grew. And these early followers of Jesus that became a part of this new community called the church were being used by God to complete the co-mission that they had been given.

And it is in this story that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the co:mission we have been given. And that timeless truth is this: God’s co-mission requires our investment. The Lord used the healthy community that existed amongst the early church to advance His kingdom mission and grow the church. You see the issue is not the growth of the church; the issue is the health of a church, because healthy things grow. And the early church experienced explosive growth not because of a church growth strategy or a marketing campaign.

The early church experienced explosive growth as a result of early followers of Jesus investing their time, their talent, and their treasure into being a part of what God was doing in community with one another. Early followers of Jesus invested their time in a community that gathered and scattered in a way the revealed and reflected Christ. Early followers of Jesus invested their talents serving God by serving others in ministry to others in a way the revealed and reflected Christ. Early followers of Jesus invested their treasure generously to meet the needs of others in a way the revealed and reflected Christ.

And in the same way today, God’s co-mission requires our investment. When followers of Jesus consistently invest their time by being involved in a regular worship gathering and a community group; when followers of Jesus consistently invest their talents serving God by serving others by being a part of a ministry team; and when followers of Jesus consistently invest their treasure in order to help create environments where people can explore and grow in their faith while experiencing community, we create a healthy community that is engaged in God’s co:mission as a city in a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.

So here is a question to consider: Are you investing in God’s co-mission in a way that results in your spiritual growth and others spiritual good? Are you investing your time in a community group? Are you investing your talents serving in a ministry? Are you investing your treasure through regular and proportional giving? Because the timeless reality is that God’s co:mission requires our investment. We are most powerfully positioned to partner with God when we are invested in a healthy community that is invested and engaged in God’s kingdom mission.

So what is the next step that you need to take in order to be invested and investing in God’s co:mission?

A Community Gathered...

For the past two weeks, we have been spending our time together looking at a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles called the book of Acts, which records the story of how early followers of Jesus responded to the mission that they were given to be the vehicle that God used to reveal His Son Jesus as they partnered with God to advance His kingdom mission in the world. This week, as we enter back into the story of the birth of the church, we will see Luke, at the end of the second chapter of the Book of Acts, gives us a glimpse into the life of the early church. And in this glimpse inside the church, we see Luke reveal to us God’s design for His new community called the church.

In Acts 2:42-47, we will discover several timeless practices that are necessary for followers of Jesus to embrace in community with one another, so that we would be able to fully engage in the co-mission that we have been given by God to partner with God in a way that advances God’s kingdom mission as we reveal and reflect Christ to those around us. So let’s join Luke as he gives us this glimpse, beginning in Acts 2:42:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

In Acts 2:42-43, we see Luke reveal for us several timeless practices that these early followers of Jesus embraced as part of the new community called the church. First, we see that these early followers of Jesus intentionally gathered together corporately. The early followers of Jesus began to gather together in the temple courts to meet together in community. That is one of the main reasons that the Jewish religious leaders of the day were so upset; can you imagine 3,000 or more people gathering and taking over your place of worship to talk about a man that you had just killed? Luke tells us that these followers of Jesus gathered together in community to participate in three major activities.

First, they gathered together devoting themselves to the apostles teaching. In other words, they gathered together to hear the Apostles share the message and teachings of Jesus. Remember, the gospels and the letters of the New Testament in our Bibles had not been written. So early followers of Jesus gathered together in community to hear Jesus closest followers explain how Jesus fulfilled the message and teaching of the Old Testament and how they were to apply the message and teachings of Jesus to their day to day lives. They gathered together in large groups in order to hear a preacher preach. Preaching has always been preeminent and prominent in the lives of followers of Jesus.

Second, these early followers of Jesus gathered together in community for the breaking of bread. The breaking of bread here refers to the Lord’s Supper, or communion. Third, Luke tells us that they gathered together for times of corporate prayer. Now, as we have previously discovered and discussed, in Jesus day, it was a common practice for people to pray out loud, in groups, in church. Jesus had taught His disciples the importance of prayer and these early leaders of this new community called the church were passing this on to the early church.

And in the same way today, as part of God’s community called the church, we are called to gather together corporately in community with one another to experience and encounter God through the preaching of His word, through the celebration of communion and through times of group and corporate prayer. God builds, God grows, God equips, and God empowers His church to partner together with Him in the co-mission that He has given us to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world through preaching, prayer, and communion in community with one another as His followers.

In verse 43, Luke explains that as these early followers of Jesus gathered together and heard the message and teachings of Jesus; as they celebrated communion; as they prayed together; everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. What is so interesting is that this phrase, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to feel a sense of fear, alarm, or fright. But this morning, why would there be a sense of fear or alarm in the church? To understand what was happening, we first need to look back at what had previously happened.

Last week, we saw Luke reveal for us that the crowds listening to Peter’s sermon were cut to the heart. God’s words through Peter and God’s activity through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence resulted in the eyes of those listening being opened to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and their need for rescue from selfishness and rebellion. And as these early followers of Jesus and as those who were in the temple continued to hear the message and teachings of Jesus, there was a response of conviction of selfishness and rebellion which resulted in a sense of fear, alarm, or fright.

And this sense of fear and fright was intensified by the wonders and signs that were taking place through the Apostles. As the Apostles exercised the sign spiritual gifts that God had given them to do the miraculous, these spiritual gifts served as a sign that authenticated their message and teachings as being brought from God and not simply made up by man. The crowds recognized that this was a message from God that could not be ignored or minimized. This was a message that required a response.

Later this week, we will see Luke reveal for us several additional practices that these early followers of Jesus embraced as part of a new community called the church...

A CO:MISSION Powered by the Holy Spirit that Produces a New Community...

This week, we are looking at a story that is recorded for us in a letter in our Bible called the book of Acts that records a day in history when God did something new by sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community called the church. And this new community called the church would be the vehicle that He would use to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world.

Yesterday, we saw Peter stand in the midst of crowd of thousands to explain that God was sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community and with a new mission be the vehicle that He uses to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world. And that everyone who responds to the message of the gospel would be rescued from selfishness and rebellion and experience the relationship with God that they were created for. Peter then proceeds to proclaim the message of the gospel in verse 22:

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.'

In other words, Peter exclaims “God has revealed Himself to you through His Son, who proved that He is “God–in-a-bod” by doing what only God could do; Healing lepers, giving sight to those born blind; raising the dead. And the reason that God revealed Himself though His Son is because God had a plan. A plan that involved sending His Son who allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we had lived Jesus perfect life. And while He was put to death, God proved that His promise of forgiveness and rescue was true by raising Him from the dead and bringing Him back to life. And this should not come as any surprise to you, because King David, our greatest leader, predicted and proclaimed that this would happen in Psalm 16:8-11”.

Now, for many Jewish people listening to Peter here, it is at this point that there would have been an objection to Peter’s words here. The objection would have been around the belief that most Jewish people in the first century believed that David was referring to Himself in this Psalm. And while some may have thought that David was referring to himself in these verses, Peter goes on to prove that King David was not referring to himself, but to Jesus:

"Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

To understand what Peter is communicating here, we first need to understand about King David and his grave. Upon King David’s death, he was buried in a tomb that was located just south of the city, near Siloam. The tomb had previously been entered and robbed in the past by those who had conquered the Jewish people. And King Herod, after being halted from robbing and desecrating King David’s grave upon taking power, made amends for his actions by building a monument of white marble at the entrance to the tomb. So everyone knew where King David was buried. And everyone knew that his dead and rotting corpse was in the tomb. So with that knowledge in mind, Peter continues his sermon:

"And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'

Peter explains “everyone knows that King David died and is buried in his tomb, so King David could not be talking about himself in this Psalm. King David is not talking about himself because God promised King David that one of his descendants would be the Promised Messiah who would come and rescue the Jewish people. And the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead by God and is not in a tomb rotting away reveals the reality that Jesus is the Messiah. God has fulfilled His promise and what you think is drunkenness is actually God sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community called the church. And this new community called the church would be the vehicle that He uses to reveal that the claims of Christ and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world are true. Peter then hammers his point home in verse 36:

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified."

In other words, there is no doubt that Jesus is God and our Messiah that was sent to be our Rescuer-and you killed Him! Now imagine yourself as part of the crowd listening to this sermon and seeing and hearing what was happening through these Galileans who were speaking in your native language. How would you respond? We see how many in the crowd responded as the story concludes:

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

As the crowds listened to Peter’s sermon and saw the evidence of God’s extraordinary activity in the lives of these earlier followers of Jesus that served to authenticate that Peter was speaking for God, they were cut to the heart. God’s words through Peter and God’s activity through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence resulted in their eyes being opened to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and their need for rescue from selfishness and rebellion. The crowds had a simple response: What shall we do? Because our eyes have been opened to see that God is at work and is doing something new in the world to provide forgiveness from sin and open the door to a relationship with God. What shall we do?

Maybe you find yourself wrestling with this very same question. Maybe God’s message of rescue through the message of the gospel has connected in the core of your being. And you find yourself asking that same question: What shall I do? If I have described you, I have good news for you; the same good news that Peter gave to those who asked this same question some 2,000 years ago. Let’s look at that good news together:

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"

When Peter uses the word repent, this word literally means to feel remorse that results in a change of one’s mind and heart. To repent means more than simply feeling sorry for something you did; to repent means that you feel sorry for what you did and the sorrow that you feel drives you to change something in your life. If Peter was communicating this message to us today in the language that we use in our culture, his message would sound something like this “Repent, recognize and feel remorse for how you are living life. Change your attitude and the trajectory of your life that is moving away from God back towards God”.

As we have talked in previous sermons, baptism is an outward act that serves to publicly identify one as being a follower of Jesus. A person who is being baptized is publicly proclaiming “I am a follower of Jesus who has been rescued from my selfishness and sin by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader and I desire to be a part of a community of believers who will encourage me and hold me accountable”.

Peter here was calling those listening to respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. Turn the trajectory of your life from trusting in your performance, or your possessions, or your position, to trust in what God has done for you through Jesus. And when we respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we receive forgiveness and experience the relationship with God that we were created for. We also receive the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in our lives. We are then to publicly proclaim and identify ourselves as being a follower of Jesus by being baptized.

And it is in this story that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the Co-mission we have been given. And that timeless truth is this: God’s co-mission is powered by the Holy Spirit and produces a new community. God provides the power to complete the mission we have been given in partnership with Him by sending His Spirit in order we would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community called the church. And it is the church that God desires to partner with and use as the vehicle to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world. We read what happened next as this story comes to an end:

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

Now for those who believe that mega churches are evil, here’s the thing; the church began as a mega church. God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world resulted in a new community called the church. A new community that was given a co-mission; a mission that would be powered by the Spirit of God in order to advance the kingdom of God and enhance the reputation of God.

And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, we are called to continue to partner with the co-mission of God that is empowered by the Holy Spirit that continues to invite others to become a part of the community of faith. And today, to become a part of the community of faith as a follower of Jesus is the same as it was 2,000 years ago and can be summarized by three simple words: believe, trust, and follow.

First, you need to believe that you have done selfish things that have hurt God and others and are in need of forgiveness and that Jesus was who He said He was; that Jesus was God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived His perfect life.

Second, you need to trust that Jesus death for your selfishness and sin provides forgiveness and the relationship with God you were created for. And third, you need to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader. If you are here this morning and you desire to experience the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that you were created for, you simply need to express to Him that you believe, trust, and desire to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader. There are no magic words, prayers, or formulas. Just simply have a conversation with God where you are.

Because God’s co-mission is powered by the Holy Spirit and produces a new community. So are you embracing and engaging in the co-mission that we have been given by investing in that mission in a way that reveals and reflects Christ and invites others to be a part of the community of faith called the church?

The Start of a New Empowerment...

This week, we are looking at a story that is recorded for us in a letter in our Bible called the book of Acts that records a day in history when God did something new. Just as God did something entirely new by sending His Son Jesus into the world in order to reveal Himself and to provide the opportunity to rescue the world from selfishness and rebellion, God was once again doing something new, something extraordinary. God was now sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community called the church. And this new community called the church would be the vehicle that He would use to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world.

And as these early followers of Jesus experienced God’s indwelling presence in a new way that had never been experienced before, they responded by pouring out into the streets of Jerusalem and toward the temple, praising God in a language that was totally unfamiliar to them. We see the response of those in to Jerusalem to the extraordinary activity of God recorded for us in verse 5:

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God." And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others were mocking and saying, "They are full of sweet wine."

As those in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost saw and heard these early followers of Jesus praising God for who He is and what He was doing, they gathered together around these disciples in a state of confused amazement and astonishment. The crowds, from all over the world, wondered and marveled at how these Jews, who had an unmistakable Galilean accent that gave them away, were speaking in their language. These were simple Galileans; yet these simple Galileans were speaking in the languages of the nations that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. Two times, Luke explains that the crowds were amazed. Now this word amazed, literally means to feel astonishment mingled with fear. What these crowds were experiencing was extraordinary and difficult to understand. The crowd was at a loss to explain what was happening.

While some in the crowd were impressed with a sense of wonder and fear at what they were witnessing from these early followers of Jesus, others in the crowd had a different perspective. “Oh look at these drunken Galileans”, they laughed at jeered. God’s activity, as is so often the case, created a division among the crowd. And in the midst of this division of opinion, Peter stands in the midst of the crowd and begins to speak. The very Peter who denied Jesus three times in a similar situation, the very Peter who was an uneducated fisherman, begins to give a sermon in the midst of devoutly religious Jewish people. And it is in this sermon that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the co-mission we have been given. Let’s look at this sermon together, beginning in Acts 2:14:

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. 'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. 'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. 'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

Peter, standing in the midst of what we will later discover is a crowd of thousands of people, proclaims “Listen up. Pay attention to what I am about to say, because these people aren’t drunk. And you should know that they are not drunk, because it is only 9 a.m. Since this is a feast day, as Jews, we abstain from food or drink in the morning, so they are not drunk. No, this is not 120 drunk Galileans on a bender; this is God doing something new. This is God doing something that He had predicted and proclaimed that He would do. Don’t you remember what God said through the prophet Joel? Don’t you remember that God promised that He would give His followers His Spirit so that they would prophesy? Don’t you remember that God promised His Spirit so that in the last days that God would do something new by proclaiming God’s message of rescue and forgiveness through the claims of Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel? Don’t you remember last time you were here for the Passover and how the sun was darkened on that Friday when Jesus was crucified?"

"The last days and the great and glorious day of the Lord have come. The last days began with Jesus appearance and God is doing something new in the world. And what you are witnessing today is the start of God doing something new. Just as God did something entirely new by sending His Son Jesus into the world in order to reveal Himself and to provide the opportunity to rescue the world from selfishness and rebellion, God is once again doing something new, something extraordinary.
God is now sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community and with a new mission be the vehicle that He uses to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world. And everyone who responds to the message of the gospel would be rescued from selfishness and rebellion and experience the relationship with God that they were created for”.

Tomorrow, we will look at the message of the gospel that Peter proclaimed that day...

The Start of Something New...

As a church we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles called the book of Acts, which records the story of how early followers of Jesus responded to the mission that they were given to be the vehicle that He used to reveal His Son Jesus as they partnered with God to advance His kingdom mission in the world. In the opening section of this letter, Jesus gave His followers throughout history the mission to live our lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that loves and serves those around us in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus through our attitudes, our actions, and our words.

At the end of that final conversation, Jesus commanded His followers to remain in the city where He had been killed until you receive the Holy Spirit. Just remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes. However long you need to wait, just wait. And as soon as He gave this command, He was carried away before their eyes into Heaven. Now, if you were a disciple, what would you be thinking? How would you be feeling? What would you do?

We know what the disciples did. The disciples went back to Jerusalem, where they were praying for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. They prayed the first day after Jesus went back to Heaven. They prayed the second day. They prayed the third day. They prayed the fourth day. Now imagine yourself as an early follower of Jesus. Jesus never gave you a timeline, just not many days from now. But what does that mean? After the fourth day, what would you be thinking? What about after the fifth day? I don’t know about you, but a natural question that would arise in my mind is “How long? How long do I have to remain here doing nothing? Shouldn’t we be doing something?” Then comes the sixth day; then the seventh; then the eighth; then the ninth. Nine days and nothing, except silence.

Now every Jewish person was required to travel to Jerusalem on three occasions in order to worship God. Regardless of where you lived, every Jewish person would travel to Jerusalem to gather together as a nation and to celebrate four feasts. Two of those feasts, which occurred during a week in the spring, were called the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread. And it was during the Passover Feast that Jesus had been arrested and killed by crucifixion. Fifty days after the Passover was the Feast of Weeks, which marked the end of the wheat harvest where the Jewish people offered the first fruits of the wheat harvest as an act of worship to God as their provider. Now those who were Jewish ethnically, but lived outside of Israel and spoke Greek referred to this feast as Pentecost. And Pentecost fell on the tenth day after Jesus had gone back to Heaven.

So, as the disciples began their tenth day praying and waiting for Jesus to fulfill His promise to send the Holy Spirit, Jerusalem would have been filled with visitors from all over the known world who had come to celebrate Pentecost. And the expectation would be that, as a good Jewish person, you would participate in the celebration of Pentecost, which would mean traveling to the temple and possibly encountering the very people who killed your leader. So what would you do? What would you be feeling as you began your day, just as you had the previous nine days, gathered together in an upper room praying in community for God to be present and provide His Spirit? Because, it is in this context that we enter back into this story, beginning in Acts 2:1. Let’s look at it together:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

As these early followers of Jesus gathered together, from out of nowhere the whole house was shaken with a noise that drowned out their prayers and their conversations. A noise that could only be described as a violent wind and that was accompanied with flames of fire that appeared over the heads of these early followers of Jesus. Now in the Bible, God’s presence amongst His people was often displayed in the form of fire. It was from the midst of a burning bush that God spoke to Moses. It was a pillar of fire that guided the Jewish people out of captivity in Egypt and to the Promised Land. In addition, Jesus, in a story that is recorded for us in the gospel of John, had explained that the Spirit of God was like the wind that blew wherever it willed. And Jesus early followers would have been very familiar with these stories. God’s Holy Spirit was present in their midst. God’s presence was present in a powerfully visible and powerfully audible way.

But it was not that God’s presence was in their midst; it was that God’s presence was now going to indwell them through the Holy Spirit. God was doing something new. God was not just going to dwell with His people; God was going to dwell in His people by giving His people the Holy Spirit. And as a result of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence, these Jewish followers did something new; they began to speak in different tongues by the power of the Holy Spirit. These tongues were other human languages that were unknown to the speaker, but known to those who heard.

You see, it was on this day in history that God began to do something new in the world. Just as God did something entirely new by sending His Son Jesus into the world in order to reveal Himself and to provide the opportunity to rescue the world from selfishness and rebellion, God was once again doing something new, something extraordinary. God was now sending His Spirit in order that followers of Jesus would be united together by His Spirit as a part of a new community called the church. And this new community called the church would be the vehicle that He would use to reveal Himself and His message of rescue through the gospel to the world.

And as these early followers of Jesus experienced God’s indwelling presence in a new way that had never been experienced before, they responded by pouring out into the streets of Jerusalem and toward the temple, praising God in a language that was totally unfamiliar to them.

Tomorrow, we will look at how those in Jerusalem responded to what God was doing in the lives of these early followers of Jesus...

God's CO:MISSION Requires Engaging in the Mission...

Yesterday, we looked at a section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Acts, where Jesus gave His followers a mission. The mission that the disciples were given was to be Jesus witnesses. The disciples were to affirm and testify about what they saw and what they heard when it came to Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The disciples were to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as the means by which all of humanity had the opportunity to receive forgiveness and experience the relationship with God that they were created for.

And the mission for us as followers of Jesus remains the same. As followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveal Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us. Our words and our actions as individuals and in community with one another should affirm and testify to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not a mission that is simply done in partnership with one another. This mission is a co-mission that is empowered by the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to not only live the Christian life, but to partner with God as He completes His mission. After giving His disciples a mission that they were not expecting, a mission that was confusing, Luke records what happens next in verse 9:

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine watching Jesus being lifted into the Heavens? Now place yourself in the shoes of the disciples; what would be going through your mind? How would you respond to what you had just seen and heard? We see how the disciples responded in verse 10:

And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.

The disciples responded to what they had seen and heard by gazing intently into the sky. To gaze intently, in the language that this letter was written in, literally means to stare and look intently at something in a way that reveals that we are impressed. The disciples responded to the amazing things that they had seen and heard by wanting to spend their time simply soaking in the scene. The disciples were content to just remain where they were at and reminisce about what they had just experienced.

How often can we find ourselves acting just like the disciples? How often can we find ourselves simply wanting to spend our time intently soaking in Jesus? How often can we find ourselves focused on all that Jesus has done for us instead of what Jesus has called and commanded us to do? How often can we find ourselves so impressed with what Jesus has done among us that we end up not engaging the mission that God has given us to reach those who are not among us?

As the disciples stare into the sky, two angelic messengers, dressed in white clothing and appearing as men, come and stand next to them. The disciples, so focused and so intent on soaking in what they had experienced, had failed to recognize when they arrived or their presence, which becomes evident in their response to the disciples in verse 11:

“They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?

In other words “What are you doing? Why are you just standing here staring into the sky all impressed? Aren’t you supposed to be going somewhere? Didn’t Jesus just give you a mission? The angels then continue to confront and comfort the disciples:

This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

The angels explain to the disciples “well, if you think that was impressive, just wait. Just wait because Jesus is going to do something even more impressive. In the future Jesus will return to this very place in the exact same way that He left. So do you want to have Him find you here staring into the sky instead of engaging in the mission that He has given you when He returns?” Luke then concludes this story by revealing for us the disciples response in verses 12-14:

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, 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. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

The disciples responded to the angels question by following Jesus command to travel from the Mount of Olives, which was located just 2/3 of a mile outside the city of Jerusalem, to the upper room where they had been staying. The eleven disciples then spent their time, along with immediate members of Jesus earthly family and many of the women who had accompanied Jesus during His life on earth, united in prayer. These early followers of Jesus were praying in one accord, that Jesus promise in verse 4 would come to fruition. These disciples desired that the Holy Spirit would arrive and indwell them, so that they would be equipped and empowered to engage in the co-mission of God’s kingdom mission.

Because the timeless reality is the God’s co-mission requires that we engage in the mission that He has given us. The mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as the means by which all of humanity had the opportunity to receive forgiveness and experience the relationship with God that they were created for. The mission to live our lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveals Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us.

So are you engaged in the co-mission that God has given us? Or do you simply want to spend your time intently soaking in Jesus? Are you so focused on all that Jesus has done for you that you are not engaged in what Jesus has called and commanded us to do? Are you so impressed with what Jesus has done among us that you are not engaging the mission that God has given us to reach out to those who are not among us?

A CO:MISSION Given...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Acts. In this section, Jesus is having a conversation with the disciples after He was raised from the dead. And in the midst of this conversation, the disciples found themselves confused as to whether or not Jesus was staying with the disciples or leaving to God back to God the Father, as He had previously told them. And in the midst of their confusion, the disciples ask Jesus a question, which is recorded for us in Acts 1:6:

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

Now this question, if asked in the language that we use in our culture today, would sound something like this: “Jesus, is now the time where you are going fulfill your promise to restore the Jewish people to political prominence and power as your chosen people? Is now the time when you are going to defeat the Roman Empire and reestablish the Jewish nation with you as our King, so that the Jewish people would have a kingdom like we used to in the days of King David and King Solomon?”

You see, the disciples, along with the vast majority of the Jewish people, viewed the Messiah as being a military and political leader who would rescue and restore their political fortunes. So the disciples were awaiting their marching orders; the disciples were waiting to receive their mission, so that they could be a part of reestablishing God’s kingdom. What mission would they be given? “Sure we are to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit; great. But what is our mission? And when is the kingdom being established?” And, as was so often the case, the disciples were not prepared for the answer that they would receive from Jesus, which is recorded for us in verse 7:

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

In other words, Jesus says “that is above your pay grade and that is not to be your concern. Instead of being concerned with the things that only God has the position and power to establish, I want you to concerned with what you should be concerned with, which is to follow my command and wait in Jerusalem so that you can be equipped and empowered to complete the mission that I have for you. Jesus then gives the disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history, the mission that they were to be concerned with:

“and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

The disciples were not given a mission to lead a military campaign. The disciples were not given a mission to establish a new political party. Instead, the mission that the disciples were given was to be Jesus witnesses. Now, just as it is today, a witness is one who affirms and testifies about something that they have seen or heard. The disciples were to affirm and testify about what they saw and what they heard when it came to Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The disciples were to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as the means by which all of humanity had the opportunity to receive forgiveness and experience the relationship with God that they were created for.

And this mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel was to be a mission that was ever expanding in size and scope. The disciples were to live lives that revealed and reflected Christ as they shared the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in their immediate sphere of influence, which was Jerusalem. The disciples were to equip and empower followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who were not in their immediate sphere of influence, which was Judea and Samaria. And the disciples were to have a passion to take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world.

And the mission for us as followers of Jesus remains the same. At the church where I serve, we communicate God’s kingdom mission this way: At City Bible Church, we are a “city within a city" that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city. As followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveal Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us. Our words and our actions as individuals and in community with one another should affirm and testify to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not a mission that is simply done in partnership with one another. This mission is a co-mission that is empowered by the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to not only live the Christian life, but to partner with God as He completes His mission.

Now, as you might imagine, Jesus words here were confusing. This was not what they expected to hear. And, if Jesus words were not enough to confuse the disciples, tomorrow we will look at something that happened next that was even more confusing...

Accurate History of His Story...

This new year, we are spending our time together as a church looking at a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles called the book of Acts. And is the book of Acts, we see how early followers of Jesus partnered with the presence of God to advance His kingdom mission. And as we go through this book, our hope and our prayer as a church is that God would equip us and empower us to embrace the CO-MISSION that we have been given by God in a way that results in God’s kingdom mission advancing as we reveal and reflect Christ to those around us. We are introduced to the CO-MISSION that we have been given by God in Acts 1:1:

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

To understand what is happening here, we need to first understand how the book of Acts fits into the overall flow of the Bible. The book of Acts is the second book of a two volume set. The gospel of Luke is the first volume of this two volume set, and is what is being referred to in verses 1-3. The writer of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was a Gentile doctor named Luke, who many scholars believe was from Antioch, which was a city that is located in the southeastern corner of what is now modern day Turkey. Luke was hired by a man named Theophilus, who was a Roman official who hired Luke to research and to provide an accurate and orderly account about the origins of Christianity.

As a doctor, Luke was a very educated and learned man and was thus well qualified for the task that he was given. And as a result of the generosity of Theophilus, Luke, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, spent several years involved in intensive research and investigation that produced this two volume set that we now have as a part of our Bibles today. Luke traveled throughout the regions where Jesus lived and ministered, investigating and interviewing individuals who were witnesses to the events that occurred during Jesus life. Luke interviewed Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with the disciples and other close followers of Jesus.

Luke is universally recognized, by skeptics and believers alike, as being a scrupulously accurate historian. One archaeologist carefully studied Luke’s references to thirty two countries, fifty four cities, and nine islands, without finding a single error. As a matter of fact, many have credited the gospel of Luke as being one of the most beautiful and historically accurate pieces of literature ever written.

The first volume or account that Luke composed, the gospel of Luke, was dedicated to chronicling the life and claims of Jesus Christ, from His birth to His resurrection from the dead and His initial appearances to His disciples. The second volume, the book of Acts, was dedicated to chronicling the life of Jesus early followers after the resurrection of Jesus and traces the birth and the spread of Christianity and the church from Jerusalem to Rome, which was the dominant political and military power in the world during the life of Jesus and His early followers.

When we read the book of Acts, we can place many of the other New Testament letters that are recorded for us in our Bibles within the context of the events that Luke records for us in the book of Acts. For example, the book of Galatians refers to events that are recorded for us in Acts 9-15. The books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians were written during the events that occurred in Acts 16-18. And the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans were written during the events that occurred in Acts 18-20.

In Acts 1:3, Luke transitions from a review of his first account, the gospel of Luke, to begin chronicling the experiences that the disciples had with the resurrected Jesus. Luke explains that Jesus repeatedly was present, not as a ghost, or a spirit, but as one who was physically resurrected from the dead after suffering death by crucifixion. Luke explains that Jesus revealed His presence to the disciples and other early followers of Jesus by many convincing proofs.

In other words, Jesus physical presence after being raised from the dead was decisive and was convincing. In Luke’s research of talking with hundreds of people, there was no doubt in His mind that Jesus had been raised from the dead. There was no doubt because Jesus was visible to the disciples and others for a period of forty days. In various locations and at various times, Jesus was physically present speaking and reminding them of the kingdom of God. By kingdom of God, Luke is referring to God’s royal reign over the universe.

You see, God had made a promise to the Jewish people that He would send a Messiah, a rescuer, who would come to rescue and restore the Jewish nation as His chosen people. So the Jewish people were looking for the descendant of Abraham, from the line of David that would be the promised Messiah who would bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the world. And as we discovered in the presence series, God, at just the right time fulfilled His promise by sending His Son Jesus, who would provide the opportunity for all of humanity to be rescued from selfishness, sin, and rebellion and experience the relationship with God that they were created for through His life, death, and resurrection.

So for forty days, Jesus kept proclaiming, teaching, and reminding them that God’s kingdom promise had been fulfilled through Him. And after forty days of being physically present and reminding them about His message and teachings, Jesus gathers the disciples together for a conversation. A conversation that Luke records for us, beginning in Acts 1:4:

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

Jesus commands His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received what the Father had promised, the promise that Jesus had communicated to them in the last conversation that He had with them before His arrest, which is recorded for us in one of the accounts of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John. In John 14, Jesus explained that while He would be leaving them shortly, that He would not leave them as orphans. Instead of abandoning the disciples, Jesus explained that God was going to give them another helper, who would teach and remind the disciples of Jesus message and teachings. And the helper that God had promised the disciples was that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus explained that while John’s followers were baptized in water as a way to identify with his message and their need of repentance, followers of Jesus would receive a different baptism, a baptism that involved the very Spirit of God dwelling within them. God was about to do something new; something extraordinary, which was that everyone who had placed their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel would have the Holy Spirit take up residence within them.

You see, prior to this time in history, the Holy Spirit only was given to prophets, priests, or leaders that had a special role in God’s kingdom mission. But here we see Jesus reminding His disciples that not many days from now, the Holy Spirit would be given to every one of His followers. And the fulfillment of this promise was predicted and proclaimed as being a sign that would reveal the ushering in of the Kingdom of God and His reign here on earth.

However, Jesus command would have also reminded the disciples about another aspect of the last conversation that Jesus had before He was arrested, which that He was going to leave them. So, as you might imagine, the disciples were confused. Just imagine what was running through the disciples minds at this point. I mean wouldn’t you be confused. “Is Jesus leaving, or is He staying? He said He was leaving us, then He was killed, but now He is here with us after being raised from the dead. This is not what we expected.

And in the midst of their confusion, the disciples ask Jesus a question. A question we will look at tomorrow...

God’s Presence is Present When We Engage in God’s Kingdom Mission in Community with One Another...

This week, we have been wrestling with the tension that we can experience when it comes to whether or not God’s presence is present in our lives by looking at a story that is recorded for us in the Bible that reveals the reality that the disciples found themselves wresting with the very tension of whether or not God’s presence was present.

And in this story Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. This statement is often referred to as the “Great Commission”. Jesus here is giving His followers a mission; and that mission is to make disciples of all nations. And at the church where I serve, we believe that followers of Jesus are fully engaged in the Great Commission when we are investing in that mission in three specific ways. We believe that the Bible teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Jesus requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving.

And so often, most sermons or conversations on this story tend to end here. But that is not where this story ends. Jesus still has more to say. And as this story continues, Jesus makes an amazing statement that helps resolve the tension when it comes to the question of whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this statement together, which is at the end of Matthew 28:20:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus grabs the attention of His disciples with what is translated in our Bibles today as lo. This would be like me standing up here this morning and saying “Yo, listen up!” Jesus wanted to have the disciples undivided attention because He was about to introduce something new; something previously unheard of; something that would have been viewed by the disciples as unusual. And what was so new and unusual was this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. Jesus here is promising His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history that He is fully present. Just because God may seem silent, that does not mean that God is not present. Just because we cannot see God, that does not mean that God is not present.

You see God’s presence is evident when followers of Jesus are engaged in community with one another and on mission with one another. When followers of Jesus gather together in community to worship, we experience God’s presence in powerful ways. When followers of Jesus gather together in community groups, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way as we support and encourage one another. When followers of Jesus invest their talents serving God by serving others, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others. When followers of Jesus invest their treasure, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others as we create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience community.

And God’s presence is most powerfully present when we engage in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another. We are never any closer to God’s presence here on earth than when followers of Jesus are engaged in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another, because God has divinely designed the church to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to one another and the world.

As followers of Jesus, God has promised us His presence will be present. And we experience God’s presence most powerfully in community with one another. And God has given us a mission. A mission to make disciples; to be used by God to bring followers of Jesus into relationship with Him and in community with one another that results in their spiritual growth and good. And what is so amazing is that this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not simply a mission that followers of Jesus engage apart from God. This mission is a CO-MISSION. This is a mission that God partners with us as He equips and empowers us to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to the world.

And in this New Year, we will be looking at the CO-MISSION that God has given us...

A Kingdom Mission Given...

This week, we have been wrestling with the tension that we can experience when it comes to whether or not God’s presence is present in our lives. Yesterday, we discovered that the tension that surrounds the issue of God’s presence being present is not a new tension; this tension has been around for 2,000 years. There is a story that is recorded for us in the Bible that reveals the reality that the disciples found themselves wresting with the very tension of whether or not God’s presence was present.

And in this story Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus makes a promise that is often overlooked but provides us the confidence that we need to navigate the tension that we can experience when it comes to the issue of whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this famous statement together, beginning in Matthew 28:18:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

In the midst of this scene of worship of Jesus as “God in a bod” and the doubt that the disciples were feeling as to what they were to do with their future and with whether or not Jesus presence would be present, Jesus takes the initiative. Jesus did not wait for the disciples. Instead, Jesus approaches the disciples and explains that “all authority has been to Me in heaven and on earth”. In other words, Jesus declares to His disciples and to His followers throughout history, that He is large and in charge of everything. God the Father has formally given Jesus the right to exercise command and control over all of creation. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He was Lord and Leader and was the one whom God had granted the power to exercise control over the universe and to guide God’s kingdom mission.

And because of the universal authority that Jesus possess; because Jesus is large and in charge of all of creation; Jesus has the right to give His followers Divine direction when it comes to the question “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And as Jesus continues to take the initiative with the disciples, He proceeds to give His disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history a divine directive that answers the question “What now?” and that reveals God’s kingdom mission for followers of Jesus throughout history in verse 19:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;

Now whether you regularly attend church or whether this is your first Sunday in church; whether or not you regularly read the Bible, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with what Jesus says here. You are probably familiar with Jesus words here because this is one of the two sayings of Jesus that are described with the adjective great. This statement is often referred to as the “Great Commission”. Jesus here is giving His followers a mission; and that mission is to make disciples of all nations. The phrase “go and make disciples of all nations” in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally reads “as you are going, make disciples of all nations”. God is not commanding us to go. God is commanding us to make disciples as we go. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Now a natural question that arises here is “well how are we supposed to make disciples? And how do we know that we are actually being successful in making disciples?” First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus. You do not need to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be missionaries wherever we are. And in your day to day life, God has already positioned you in areas of influence where you can be a missionary to those who are far from God.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we see baptisms occurring in the Bible, we discover that baptism is an outward act that serves to publicly identify one as being a follower of Jesus. A person who is being baptized is publicly proclaiming “I am a follower of Jesus who desires to be a part of a community of believers who will encourage me and hold me accountable”. So a major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner of the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

You see, evangelism is not a separate activity from discipleship. Evangelism is the first step of discipleship, where a person responds to what God has done for them through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And baptism is a step of identification with Jesus as His follower and with the kingdom mission that He has given us as His followers.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. While there may be occasions where a follower of Jesus commits sin, a follower of Jesus, over time, will live a life that is becoming more like Christ in character and conduct. And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good.

At the church where I serve, we summarize how we engage in God’s kingdom mission in the following way: “City Bible Church is a city within a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city”. We are a community of believers that are located within Bullhead City that has been strategically placed here by God to engage our community with the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel in a way that reflects Christ. We are a community of believers that has been given a kingdom mission to love and serve our community in a way that reveals and reflects Christ in real and practical ways.

We desire to be a church that creates environments where we can love and serve our community in real and practical ways that provide an opportunity to share the love of Christ and the message of the gospel. And we desire to be a church of missionaries that are genuinely and authentically following the message and teachings of Jesus in our spheres of influence in a way that is investing and inviting those who are far from God to come to experience the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that they were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And as we engage in God’s kingdom mission by creating environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience authentic community, we believe that God will work in and through these environments to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, who move from being consumers who are exploring faith, to owners who own a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus, to investors who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus and who invest their time, talents, and treasure in the kingdom mission that we have been given as a church.

As a church, we believe that followers of Jesus are fully engaged in the Great Commission when we are investing in that mission in three specific ways. We believe that the Bible teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Jesus requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving.

So here is a question to consider: where would you place yourself when it comes to a relationship with Jesus? Would you consider yourself a consumer who is still searching and shopping when it comes to Jesus? Would you consider yourself as an owner, who owns and embraces a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus, but has not taken the step to invest deeper in that relationship or in the mission that He has given us? Or would you consider yourself and investor who is investing your time, talent, and treasure in a way that is resulting your spiritual growth and in the spiritual good of others?

With the answer to that question in mind, here is a second question to consider: What would you need to do to take that next step when it came to your relationship to Jesus? What would you have to do to move from a consumer to an owner? What would you have to do to move from an owner to an investor? And what is keeping you from taking that step?

And so often, most sermons on this story tend to end here. But that is not where this story ends. Jesus still has more to say. And as this story continues, Jesus makes an amazing statement that helps resolve the tension when it comes to the question of whether or not God’s presence is present. We will look at this statement tomorrow...

Doubting if God's Presence is Present...

As a church we have been spending our time this Christmas season in a sermon series entitled Presence. During this series, we have been talking about the reality that Christmas began not so that we could experience presents. Instead Christmas began so that all of humanity could have the opportunity to experience God's presence. Christmas is about God responding to the problem of selfishness and rebellion that created a void that separated humanity from God with a promise.

Christmas is about God promising to solve a problem that no present under a tree could ever solve. Christmas is about God promising to solve a problem that only the presence of the Son of God hanging on a tree could solve. A promise of His presence being delivered at just the right time to provide an opportunity for the rescue all of humanity. And Christmas is about God delivering on that promise at just the right time, by sending His Son Jesus to enter into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And when we respond to God delivering on the promise of His presence by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we receive the forgiveness of sin and are able to experience the relationship with God that we were created for.

However, as we live some 2,000 years after God delivered on His promise to reveal His presence in the most powerful way imaginable, there is a tension, isn’t there. There is a tension because we are not able to see and touch the presence of God. I mean, it is not like we can go to the firehouse and have a conversation with Jesus face to face; it is not like we can even chat with Jesus on Facebook or send Him a tweet on twitter. It is not as though we can text back in forth with Jesus. And because of these realities, we can find ourselves facing the tension of wondering if God’s presence is present. We can find ourselves wondering if Jesus is really present and active in our lives. Maybe you are here this morning and I have just described you.

Maybe you are wondering if God’s presence is actually present today. Maybe you are here and you are wondering if God is present and actively at work today, or if He is just sitting back in a rocking chair keeping time as a disinterested observer of your life. So, is God’s presence present? What do we do with this tension when it comes to God’s presence being present?

The tension that surrounds the issue of God’s presence being present is not a new tension; this tension has been around for 2,000 years. As a matter of fact, there is a story that is recorded for us in the Bible that reveals the reality that the disciples, the very people who had seen and experienced God’s presence in the most powerful way imaginable, wrestled with this tension. The very people who had witnessed Jesus arrest; the very people who heard of Jesus death; the very people who had encountered Jesus after He was raised from the dead; they wrestled with this tension. We see this tension revealed for us in Matthew 28:16:

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand the context in which this story takes place. After being raised from the dead, Jesus provided instructions for the disciples to travel to Galilee to meet up with Him there. The disciples, following Jesus instructions, traveled to Galilee, where they met up with Jesus. Matthew tells us that when they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him, but some were doubtful.

Now a natural question that arises here is “what are they doubtful about”? Were they doubtful that it was really Jesus? I don’t believe so, because they all worshipped Him. They would not have worshipped Him if they were uncertain as to whether or not it was actually Jesus that they were seeing. So, why are they doubtful?

To understand why they were doubtful, we need to look back at the final conversation that Jesus had with the disciples before He was arrested. In that conversation, which is recorded for us in John chapter 13-17, Jesus explained that He was leaving to go back to God the Father, and that they were not going to be able to come with Him. And while Jesus also stated that they would not see Him during the time that He was arrested, crucified and buried; and while Jesus had promised that they would see Him again after He was raised from the dead, the disciples knew that Jesus was going to be leaving to go back to Heaven.

Now imagine yourself as one of the disciples. You have left everything to follow Jesus; you have experienced God’s presence in the most powerful and imaginable way possible. You have seen Jesus resurrected from the dead. And yet you know that Jesus had every intention of going back to God the Father in Heaven. How would you be feeling? Would there be doubt? Would you have doubts? Sure you would have doubts. You left everything to follow the Messiah, who you thought was going to usher in the Kingdom of God. And now He is leaving to go back to Heaven and leaving you behind.

I believe that the disciples doubt flowed from two fundamental questions. The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?” You see the disciples doubted how God’s presence could be present with them as they moved forward on earth while Jesus was in Heaven. The disciples found themselves wrestling with the tension of wondering if God’s presence would be present. The disciples found themselves wresting with the very tension that some of us may be wrestling with this morning. Is God’s presence present?

And it is in this context that we enter into this story. And in this story Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus makes a promise that is often overlooked but provides us the confidence that we need to navigate the tension that we can experience when it comes to the issue of whether or not God’s presence is present. Tomorrow, we will look at this famous statement...