Lord Jesus, now I thank you as we stand one year into the book of Acts, and as we look back this morning and think about what you have taught this particular gathering of your body in the last roughly 52 weeks from this book and its first 8 chapters, how I pray. Oh, risen one that you would reside with power over this assembly of your people and that you would be our great hepper again today as you have always and unfailingly been in the life of your church. And how I ask that you would build in the power of your spirit, your church today, show yourself faithful to the promise that you made to build your church in the gospel of Matthew in such a way that the gates of hell will not overpower it. So will you come and vanquish every trace of evil and darkness in this room? Will you vanquish the power of sin which holds hearts captive in unbelief? And will you be the great liberator and the one who leads his people out in an exodus this morning? And would you strengthen your saints already here this morning and feed us Lord Jesus? We ask in your name. Amen. Well, let me put your fears immediately to rest. I'm not going to start over again. But this week actually as it turns out is one year the end of the first year of the book of Acts in our church. And so it seemed appropriate to me to devote this week's message to some historical reflection and to think together with you about what are the major things that God has taught us? What have we learned? What has our king emphasized for us through this book as we have studied it together as we've prayed about it together? And as I wrestled with that question, it seemed to me that there was one single theme, one overarching theme that was the dominant theme and at least in my own praying and reflection and learning from these first eight chapters that really I think is the signal theme of these eight chapters for our church. And that theme you want to know what it is, right? You're waiting. What is that theme? It's a church. The theme of the church. And I've got four features of the church that I'm going to try to highlight for you from these first eight chapters. They're going to be relevant the whole time that we study this book and you just do the math. We're going to be in the book for a while. And I think it's very appropriate that on 9-11 we consider as a church an institution that is indestructible that will never fall which is always on the increase that is never feeble that is never weak and will be victorious in every way at the end of history. The church of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the United States. And so I want to think with you about these four features of the church that just jump out of these first eight chapters. And the first one is that the church is defined by the absence of Jesus. Acts 1 9-11. And after he had said these things, which is these things referring to his mission to the church in verse 8, he was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received him out of their site. And as they were gazing intently into the sky, well he was departing. They hold two men in white clothing stood beside them and they also said men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you watched him go into heaven. That really is a stunning way to begin this book because what it means is that Acts opens with this enormous crisis if you think about it. It's an amazing crisis. Can you imagine being one of those apostles, one of those eleven apostles? I mean you were with this man. Jesus for three years and you loved him and you literally waited on every word that was going to fall out of his mouth because it was so amazing. You weren't always the best students but you loved him. And then at the very moment of his ministry, when you thought that he was going to usher in the kingdom of God and kick the Romans out by taking up residence in Jerusalem at that very moment, he undergoes a great reversal of your expectations and dies. It's actually killed. It's unjustly tried and is murdered and you desert him, this man you loved, this man to whom you promised undying will help you. But then three days later, he's raised from the dead and you don't believe it at first but you go to Galilee just like he said you're supposed to and for 40 days you're with the risen Lord. This one you love so much and he's speaking to you about the kingdom of God which is exactly what you had wanted him to talk to you about before and for 40 days you're with him, you can see him, you can touch him, you have meals with him, you probably hug him, you hear his voice, you're with him. And then he gets to this point in instruction with you. You're starting to understand things a lot more clearly and he reminds you that before he was crucified that there was a promise from the Father that he would send a comforter to be with you and as Jesus is talking about this, he says, and by the way you're supposed to stay in Jerusalem, stay there until the Father fulfills his promise to you, pours his spirit on you and then you're going to be my witnesses for Jerusalem to the remotest part of the earth. You're going to be my servants. Can you imagine how you would think as an apostle? The kingdom is here, Jesus is going to be here with us and then right when he says that to you, he leaves. He just handed the whole world to you and he leaves. Now that's a crisis. What are you going to do? The king of the universe just said you're now in charge of earth and the message about who I am, the message of the forgiveness of sins, the message of kingdom of God, you now are responsible to carry to the ends of the earth and I'm gone now.
What a crisis. It creates this incredible responsibility on the party apostles, doesn't it? Because now the most important work in the universe is resting in their hands, which is to carry the gospel to the nations and so they have to now live by faith. They have to live by faith. Where is he? Will he keep his promises? Friends, that's exactly where we are. You see, that's exactly where we are. We have the same crisis in a sense because I have never seen Jesus Christ. Have you? Why are you here if you haven't seen him? Why is your heart bending toward him in loyalty and in a desire to serve him? You've never seen him. What are you nuts? It's exactly how we live. Now, now what's really important is to listen to the other part of what the angels told the apostles because they're just like we are. Whoa. Right? There he goes. Dunfounded. But the angels tell us something very important, don't they? They say, right? They say you have to carry your in effect. You have to carry your mission out now in light of his absence, but he is going somewhere. He is going to have them. And it's very important to see that the mission of the global expansion of the gospel is carried, which Acts describes for us, is carried out in the absence of Jesus. Where did Jesus go? He goes to heaven. That's what we call his ascension and his exaltation at Father's right hand. That's his glorification, where Jesus is glorified in the Father's presence. It's so important to know that what Jesus is doing is not abandoning his church, but he's advancing his church when he leaves. That's why he left. He left in order to advance his church's interests, not to abandon her. And the same thing that the apostles understood with increasing clarity, especially in chapter 2, we have to grasp as well. You see the exaltation of Jesus, which is where Acts begins, is a hugely significant theme in the New Testament, and is the reference point, my friends, for the whole Christian life, by the way. Because in order for Christ to be exalted, God has had to have made an enormous amount of provision, right? I mean when Jesus goes up to the Father's right hand in heaven, he's coronated. And God has done so much for that to happen. Think about it. A God man in the presence of God the Father, now. What has to have happened for that to occur? The Son of God had to become incarnate. That was no little matter. The Son of God had to live a sinless life and fight a never-ending onslaught of temptation that did not diminish over the course of his life, but that intensified over his life. He had to fight that. He had to endure crucifixion. He had to rise from the dead. Think about all the things that had to happen. Every one of those events, every one of those things is this momentous, huge thing in the Bible that we could dwell on for weeks, any one of them. And each one of them has to be in place in order for Jesus to be exalted to the Father's right hand. So God in exalting His Son has made this incredible provision for His church. Now here's what's so important about the exaltation. I have to take about kite boarding. We were at the beach yesterday and I had a different illustration for this point until this morning when I suddenly realized why God brought me the beach yesterday. Maria thought it was to be with her and the kids, but it was really for this illustration.
Have you ever seen a kite border? When we were at the beach yesterday, there were two kite borders. These guys, they look like they're on snowboards and they've got this harness of these three cables that go out in this amazing kite and these guys were just booking on the water. I mean, it was incredible. It was so exhilarating. I don't often watch things like that and go, oh, I want to do but this just looks so cool and there was one guy who was way better than the other one and it was choppy. So he would catch, this guy would catch air. He'd hit a wave and he'd catch air and the gust of wind would be time just right and he'd get lifted up out of the water on his board and he'd twirl around like this and then he'd compression down and keep going. It was so exhilarating and when I saw that, I realized that that's exactly what the exaltation of Jesus is not. That's exactly what it's not for me as a Christian because I watched the kite border. I am exhilarated. I am pumped about that and I'm not a participant. I'm a bystander. I'm a spectator and if you stay where the apostles started, which is, there he goes, doesn't have anything to do with me, you will land in despair because the great news about the Christian gospel is that when you come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, your life is united to his. That's called union with Christ so that in every aspect of Christ's destiny, you, Christian, are a participant and not a spectator. So when Jesus goes to the Father's right hand, he's not going as a private person like that kite border was. He is going as the public head of his people, the sovereign of his church representing all of his lambs into the presence of God the Father so that where he is, we are. And so acts begins with this awesome placement of the church in the position of unbreakable, irrevocable security with God the Father and victory so that every single thing that is played out in the book of Acts and in the Christian life is played out in light of that unshakeable reality. You, Christian, are in the Father's presence right now. That's what Paul says in Ephesians 2, but God because of the great love with which He loved us, raised us, made us alive in Christ and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. Hello, you are seated in the heavenly places with Jesus Christ because He is exalted. That is incredible and that is the teaching of the Bible. So let me ask you friends, are you defined as the church is by Jesus' absence? I long for the day when I will see my Lord face to face for the first time. What will that be like? But I am so glad that He is not here right now. I am so glad that He is not here. Now my next point is going to be that the church is defined by the presence of Jesus Christ. So hang, I am so glad that He is not physically present in this room, but He is representing me in the Father's presence right now. I am pardoned. My acceptance with God is secure. My inheritance is a certainty. It is not a contingency. So friends, are you defined? Are your dealings with God defined by the absence of Jesus Christ, the physical absence of Jesus Christ and his exaltation at the Father's right hand? Are you bold? Are haunted by your sins? Do you move towards God? Are you hopeful? Do you wake up despairing? Is your fellowship with the Father energized and propelled by the presence of your champion at his side? Or do you stand off from God? In His destiny, do you see a mirror of your own, where He owes you an eye go? He is a trail blazer for us as His people. He has opened the way into the Father's presence and made that highway secure for us. It's an awesome reality. So Jesus hasn't abandoned us by leaving. He has advanced us by leaving. The second theme about the church is that the church is defined by the presence of Jesus Christ and what I'm referring to here is the Holy Spirit's ministry. And you'll remember, we spent a lot of time talking about how when Jesus ascends to the Father's right hand, there seems like there are a couple of promises that are in jeopardy there that He Himself made. Right? I, Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. He's saying He's personally going to be about the work of church building while He's gone physically. So how is He going to keep that promise? And then the second promise is the one from Matthew 28, 20. And low, it's the end of the great commission. Low I am with you all the way. I am with you always, even at the end of the age. But He knows He's going to send to the Father's right hand. So is He playing fast and loose with His promises? Not at all. And that's how we need that foundation to understand the Holy Spirit's ministry. And you'll remember if you go to chapter 2, chapter 2, verse 33, in Peter's sermon on Pentecost, you'll remember Pentecost is this great day in the history of redemption when God, because Jesus is now exalted at the Father's right hand, God pours the Spirit out on His people as He promised He would in Joel chapter 2 and other places in the Old Testament. And when Peter preaches on that reality to the assembled crowd, He makes this point verse 33, speaking of Jesus Christ, therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has He, Jesus, the exalted Jesus, excuse me, has poured forth this which you both see in here. Which means remember, we talked about how the ministry of the Holy Spirit must never be understood apart from the minister Jesus Christ. That is totally critical. So often Christians will speak about the Holy Spirit like He is the guy who now has the baton after Jesus is sent to the Father's right hand and He's kind of operating on his own. That is totally unscriptural and Peter would get you over the head. If you said that, he said, you didn't listen to my sermon. He said very clearly that it's Jesus who poured the Spirit out upon His people. Now that has a lot to say to us about the presence of Jesus Christ in the church because the church is a dwelling of God, Paul says in Ephesians 2, in the Spirit. We are a dwelling of God in the Spirit. And if Jesus is sender of the Spirit, that means that the Spirit is about carrying out the ministry of Jesus Christ after he ascends to the Father's right hand. So Jesus is keeping His promise to build His church right now even though we don't see Him. How is He keeping that promise through the Holy Spirit who indwells us as believers and who has offered to you unbeliever if you'll receive Christ? He is also keeping His promise to be with us how by the presence of His Holy Spirit in us. Jesus hasn't broken any promises by leaving and the church is defined by the presence of Jesus Christ by the reality of His being here right now. We are not like the Volusia Historical Society which meets to think about bygone days in Volusia County and to study heroes from the history of Volusia County with none of those guys and gals actually being present in the room. We are not a bunch of historians. To be a Christian means to have living real fellowship with God in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Can you see that? Can you see the wind? No technically but can you see the effects of the wind? Yes you can see the Gulf Coast. Friends what it means what it means to be stirred up by the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to see Jesus Christ more clearly. It doesn't mean to speak in tongues. It doesn't mean to roll in the aisles. It doesn't mean to laugh out loud and controllably. What it means is to see Jesus Christ more clearly because the ministry of the Holy Spirit is given for this express purpose and this is what Jesus says in John 1614. He, the Holy Spirit, shall glorify me for He shall take of mine and shall disclose it to you. So friends often I will not often. Not often anymore. It used to be the case that I would hear from folks visit our church. It's like you know there's no the spirit isn't in this church because everybody's so gloomy and you spend so much time studying. I'm like you don't understand the Bible's teaching on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I got news for you. Is Christ being exalted? Is Christ being treasured? Is Christ being displayed? That means that the Holy Spirit is active here.
And He may occasionally brag and amen out of you. So let me ask you are you defined by the presence of Jesus Christ in the church? Are you defined by that? Because that's what the church is defined by. Jesus hasn't left us. He hasn't abandoned us. Communion with Him. Confidence in His presence with us. It's not that He simply high and exalted but He also dwells with the lowly like us by His spirit. So friends how would you worship this morning if Jesus were present in this room? Let me ask you that. How would you sin if Jesus were next to you in the aisle? How would you have been praying along with Bos during the pastoral prayer if Jesus was sitting right next to you? How would you have confessed your sins if your sin bearer was sitting right next to you? He was. He is.
Were his church. He's present here and it ought to make us tremble. It ought to change the way we do fellowship lunch. If he were join us for the fellowship lunch would you stay? He is joining us for fellowship lunch and would it change who you sit next to or what you speak about? It should because he's here because the church of Jesus Christ is defined by the presence of Jesus Christ. So take the bride seriously and don't trifle with her. The third point is that the church is defined by the mission Jesus entrusts to her and this we see in verse 8 of chapter 1 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. I just think that is stunning because what Jesus does. Do we realize that the most important job in the universe is to talk with others and to display in our life together the reality of the kingdom of God? Do you think that that is the most important work in the universe or is the United States the most important work in the universe? Who has a more important job friends? You as a Christian or George Bush. It is capacity as President of the United States. That's a no-brainer biblically. That is a no-brainer. You do.
I wonder if you believe that. I hope you believe that because Jesus says the kingdom of God is in your hands church and not just the kingdom of God in Jerusalem but the kingdom of God to the remotest parts of the earth in other words filling the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord. We have the most important job in the world because there is no job in the world, no privilege in the world that carries with it the duty, the joy, the privilege, whatever word you want to assign to it of carrying a message of such urgency and importance and life changing power as Christians have, right? I don't care if you have the cure for the AIDS virus in your pocket right now. That is nothing compared to the gospel of Jesus Christ and that would be a great thing. If you could devise a pill that would eliminate all heart disease that's a trifle in comparison to the liberation that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides to people. So what is the mission exactly? Well the mission is a what and there's a how that we looked at and saw together and you know the reason each one of these four things that we're going to be talking about the reason I picked them is because they're going to be timelessly relevant to us as a church and as Christians. So there's not going to be something that we can say well I got the mission thing I got the absence thing I got the presence thing now we're moving on to Paul next week okay that these are all timeless and the mission what is important to be thinking about together right. We saw this we studied this for two weeks that that what Jesus does is in the in verse eight is he connects by his command what happens in Jerusalem with the ends of the earth that is incredibly important because he is saying that the that the church his people of all ages have to be connected to the rest of the whole world is church its DNA is not designed to be isolated. He says Jerusalem you have to think about the remotest part of the earth. He says to Jerusalem and you have to think about your neighborhoods and not only that but you have to do it simultaneously not consecutively in other words church apostles you don't get to say okay well minister in Jerusalem and then when you're done in Jerusalem minister in Judea and then when you're done in Judea minister in Samaria no no no no no no no no no no simultaneously the whole world all at once the church has to be aware of it all and caring about it all and it's praying and it's giving and it's sending and how do I know that that's a case because that's exactly how the apostles interpreted it they stay they left Jerusalem eventually right before Jerusalem was fully evangelized right where did they go well they went ultimately to some rest of Judea and to Samaria and to the remote parts of the earth that's how they understood Jesus's words so that's how we need to understand it. I was struck this week I was reading an article in the paper about China's building a railway from somewhere in the middle of China to Tibet and I thought well how are you getting over the mountains that's kind of amazing and the Chinese are really secretive about this they don't want you to see that the train is actually going to be pressurized like an airplane is it's going to have special engine to go up the high altitude and there's going to be a station on this railway at 16,480 feet now when I was thinking yesterday about what's the remotest place on the earth that one came that was in the top three but that one has a railway and I just it just made me think that you know there will not be a square nanometer of this earth that will not be brought under the full and glorious lordship of Jesus Christ whether it's the highest place or the deepest place and the church has been given the task of sending the gospel and bringing the gospel to all those places it is an awesome mission that Jesus has entrusted to us and it should define everything we do that's a great what what is it that he's entrusted to us the whole world how are we going to carry that out well think about what he said to his apostles in chapter 1 it's very clear that he doesn't say okay you got the whole world now go take care of it he tells him to wait in Jerusalem right until you receive power right something is going to be given to you someone is going to be given to you the Holy Spirit is going to be given to you and then you will go be my witnesses so God will make the provision for this mission's accomplishment and that means that means that authentic spiritual life I want you to hear this authentic spiritual life in the remotest part of the earth that mountain into bed the people who work in that station is dependent upon authentic spiritual life and ongoing transformation in Jerusalem right because Jesus said those are connected he says the way you're going to get from point A to point B is you're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and then you're going to be my witnesses so friends unless you're Jerusalem which is right here which is right here is undergoing authentic spiritual ongoing transformation under the power of Jesus Christ hospital you will never carry out that mission we can never separate the what from the how because Jesus does evangelization happens because edification happens so don't tell me you're interested in missions if you're not interested in growing don't tell me that you have a heart for the lost if you don't have a heart for Jesus Christ and spend time with him those two things can never go together biblically and that it presses upon us as a church to be a church that is a growth environment a growth environment so that there should be opportunities all over the place and they should always be increased places where if you show up with half of a pulse and only one eye open there means opportunity for you to grow there's going to be a way for you to be fed remember my favorite verse in the book of Acts is Acts 16 5 and the churches were being strengthened in the faith and we're increasing in numbers daily see the connection the development internally the pursuit of God privately corporately together leads to fruitfulness on the outside it is an awesome thing to think about how God makes the provision for us to carry the mission out by transforming us and causing us really to have an epicenter mentality that begins with me don't complain about the church if you're not going after God yourself okay really it really ought to work the other way around right you ought to be pointing to yourself as the front line person so the mission is very clear we are to be defined by the mission Jesus has entrusted to us which is to carry the news of the kingdom of God to the entire earth and the means for that is going to be not not not giving money that's not the means not loving missions that's not the means right it's your transformation under the power of the gospel that's your means and then things like money and a love for missions and time and those things will flow from that but begin where Jesus does edification edification so are you defined by Jesus's mission for his church is that your agenda friends honestly is that your agenda for this church what's your agenda for I see why are you here is it is it because you're in pursuit of the same things that Jesus is in pursuit of I'm pretty sure it's a mixed bag as I look out at you because we're a mixed bag of people and what we need to do right is we need to acknowledge that we all come in here with a mixed bag of expectations for what the mission of this church ought to be and the one that is crowning all of them is what Jesus wants his church to do some of those things that we bring in may be subordinate and may serve that ministry goal but some of them may not and are you prepared to junk the ones that you carry into this room that are not consistent with Jesus's ministry goal for his church that's a hard question to answer don't be quick about that but if you struggle with that come before the Lord and ask him to bring your heart into alignment with his now what's the last the last defining feature the church and and in some ways this is this is already implicit from what I've what I've said but it's it's worth its own section and I think it's this the church is defined by Jesus's high view of her I think that the first eight chapters of the book of Acts graphically illustrate this response this principle it is a biblical impossibility I want you to hear this it is a biblical impossibility to have a high view of Jesus and a low view of his church and I want that to sink in don't don't ever think that you can have a high view of Jesus that co-exist along with a low view of his church a high view of Jesus and his work necessarily within the realm of the Bible translates into a high view of his church and this is where it starts to get down to brass tax like time commitments and showing up you know Woody Allen is a real good theologian and I like the guy I think he's an absolute nut in most ways but he said something once that I think is very profound and it is this 80 percent of life is just showing up 80 percent of life is just showing up friends you got to show up to church and you got to show up regularly and you got to go to life groups and you got to go to Sunday school you got to show up for the people of God who do you think you are are you the people of Jesus Christ you think you don't need the means grace is your schedule does your schedule reflect a low view of the church of Jesus Christ or a high view now it may be possible the vision of this church is not a vision you want to follow personally that you think is a biblical vision that's okay but you got to find a church where you will commit because the king of the church gave his blood for her so you want to know how valuable the church is Jesus Christ just think on his ministry and then examine your own heart and say hmm do I think of the church in those terms or do I practically act like the church isn't that valuable what example am I setting for my kids do my kids have a view of the church because of my actions in which they conclude the church isn't that important it's kind of like a food court
where I can go and I'm hungry lots of different options you know I like Chinese food but I hate the taquitos I would never say that by the way I'll go there and you get that and you get that but really the buffet thing I want this I'll take this but I don't want that that's not the church my friends the church is a family the church is a community and if you think that the church is a filling station you haven't gotten it right you are part of the body of Jesus Christ which means you need to be here now there are two ways from the book of Acts first eight chapters that I think demonstrate this first and if you want if you want a text Acts 2 42 through 47 listen to this 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 and all those who had believed this is the church 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 day by day continuing with one mind in the temple they were together and breaking bread from house to house they spent time together they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord's adding to their number day by day those who are being saved friends the church is where Jesus leads his people when they're saved you can you know that the church is important because that's what Jesus does with his people when he calls somebody to himself what does he bring them in the book of Acts the church must be important and the second thing that makes it so clear that the church is important in this passage highlights it is that Jesus builds his church with his church the best evangelistic strategy that I see coming out of the first-day chapters of the book of Acts is the church of Jesus Christ is when the community of God's people live out that community and show themselves to be stubbornly committed to things like fellowship the ministry of the word the apostles teaching prayer and hospitality that what happens in verse 47 Jesus brings people to the church why because when the church is being the church it is a compelling demonstration of the kingdom of God's reality in the world and you have to show up in order for that to happen
so are you defined by Jesus's high view of the church or do you have a consumer mentality you know it's very interesting to me to reflect on how when Paul opens his letters never once does he say Paul a consumer of Jesus Christ what does he say Paul the bond servant of Jesus Christ this is a family this is a community it is not a food court and it is not a filling station and Jesus is not pleased when people who profess to have a high view of him have a low view of his bride if you publicly or privately communicate to me a low view of Maria I'm going to be all over you and I'm an unholy man so friends I think the challenge one of the main challenges before us that I believe God is laying before us he is not going to let us go is he's given us a heart to reach the neighborhoods he's given us a heart reach the nations he's brought us Darren and Ellen who are so gifted in this area and I think God pushes right back at us and says and will you be the church will you be the church this year this fall will you show up even when you're tired will you give yourself to people will you spend yourself for them remember that when the apostles went around and did their ministry what did they do they did not preach to crowds and then just say okay you guys are Christians go ahead there is no such thing as free agent Christianity in the book of Acts what did they do they planted churches which is why Paul is always talking to Titus and Timothy about appointing elders and training up leaders right he's thinking we got to have a local body with leadership people are responsible with the gospel to feed the people of Jesus Christ we're going to plant churches which gives you a picture of what the apostles saw normal Christianity was and it's not the American evangelical picture of it and so friends let's approach the church and her value not with the lens of contemporary Americans but with the eyes of Jesus Christ may our look continue to build his church here at a manual in the coming year let me pray Father now we want to reverence you with awe and thanksgiving for your love for us and your goodness to us would you make your church more precious to each of us would you give us hearts that would love the bride as the bridegroom loves the bride and would you make us people who spend ourselves for her as he has spent himself for us I pray in Jesus name amen