Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] It's really a blessing if you're new with us. We just made a move. Eight years we've been doing set up and tear down church at Fountain View Community, Fountain View Athletic center in Carroll Stream. And the Lord has blessed us with this wonderful place where we have just moved in as of like a couple of weeks ago. And so we're still getting used to it, and it's a wonderful blessing. And thank you again to all who made this possible, put their hands to the good work, and now it's a reality. So it's really cool that we're in this place. We have a lot of things planned for here, by the way, and I'm not going to go into a big time right now, but just to let you know, planning for the fall, we have a lot of activities that we're going to actually start doing, new ministries that we're going to start doing, because now we have this 247 presence in our community in Carroll Stream. And so we're looking at doing some larger things, some bigger things than we were able to do as we were doing the setup, teardown stuff at the athletic center. So you'll hear more of that to come. Just wanted to wet your whistle and let you know that there's some big things, big plans coming for the fall.
[00:01:05] I want to talk to you today about the same topic that we've been discussing since actually before Easter, where we've been talking about the last steps of Jesus. And this one is. This one actually is the last message in the series. It's on Mother's Day. I know. So happy Mother's Day to all your moms. Who would we be without our moms? We are grateful for the moms that we have here and for the ones that have impacted our lives.
[00:01:29] But I want to talk to you about this subject of the last steps of Jesus. And we're going to be talking about the last thing that Jesus said to his disciples today. And I bet most of you can probably guess what that is. Do you remember the last thing that Jesus said to his disciples before he ascended into heaven? He said, you are my witnesses. Yeah. You are my witnesses.
[00:01:53] This is the topic. This is the last conversation that Jesus has with his disciples.
[00:01:58] And so I wanted to talk to you about how much we witness from day to day.
[00:02:04] Why do you, when you go to a courtroom, why do you need more than one witness?
[00:02:09] Why is it like a more powerful testimony if you have more than one person to back up the story of what actually happened?
[00:02:17] Why is it that Witnesses are so looked for when you have a trial, when you have a court case. After all, there's only one event being discussed, and yet multiple witnesses seem to make the story more confirmed.
[00:02:34] Multiple witnesses give multiple perspectives to the entire story. So I have something that I've been just dying to do with you for the last couple of weeks, and now we get to do it together.
[00:02:44] So here's a picture. Look at this picture right here. Does this look like a lot of people on the street?
[00:02:51] It kind of does, right? So this photographer, he actually worked for a newspaper. Forget his name. But he did this as an illustration to show how the media will sometimes change a story to fit their narrative. And it actually is not like the real thing that you're viewing. This looks like a lot of people on the street. But look at this picture.
[00:03:12] This is actually what was on the street. Isn't that interesting? So the camera angle makes it look like there's a whole lot of people, when in reality, there wasn't a lot of people. And they were spread out for quite a ways. I mean, you know, this. You know, these things are true. Here's one that I found on the Internet. I love this one.
[00:03:32] Those chess pieces. See those chess pieces right there? Those are the same color, only the background has changed.
[00:03:41] Do you believe me?
[00:03:43] No, I know, but it's true. Those are the same color, only the background has changed. It's perspective. Here's another one. Two people see this thing, and one person says, well, there's four sticks, and the other person says that there's three. Who's right?
[00:03:58] Interesting. Now, this is the one that I've been dying to show you. Look at this one. How many people see gold and white there? Would you stick your hand up if you see gold and white?
[00:04:11] Anybody see gold and white? Nobody sees gold and white.
[00:04:14] Just put your hand up, because this is a test. Okay, I see. Okay. How many people see blue and black?
[00:04:21] Oh, my word.
[00:04:23] You got to look around. Everybody look around. Most people see blue and black.
[00:04:29] I see gold and white.
[00:04:31] Is that wild?
[00:04:33] All right. Let the fighting begin. All right, so it all depends on your perspective, right? This is the dress. They had a thing with the dress, and it's the same kind of deal, but to me, that looks gold and white, and to a lot of other people, it looks blue and black or blue and gray.
[00:04:51] Yeah. All right, so calm down. Let's everybody just calm down.
[00:04:56] This is why, when you go to a courtroom, multiple witnesses go a long way, because not everybody sees the same thing. There's three reasons why multiple witnesses are better. Number one, corroboration.
[00:05:09] Multiple witnesses help verify the same event from different perspectives. Two or more witnesses make the witness the overall witness stronger. Number two, decipher false testimony or figure out what's actually true and what's not. One person can lie or be totally mistaken, while another person or somebody could even be biased. So multiple witnesses kind of deciphers, works through the false testimony. And the third one is balanced judgment. This means multiple testimonies allow the court to weigh differences, find consistency, and get a fuller picture of the overall story.
[00:05:49] When we read about Jesus telling us to be witnesses of him, he is telling us not simply the facts, man.
[00:05:59] The last thing that Jesus says to his disciples are that they are to be witnesses. But what he means by that is not simply to give them facts. It never was meant to be about facts. It was meant to corroborate the mission and the message of Jesus Christ from multiple witnesses.
[00:06:18] So we're doing this last steps of Jesus and this continuation from last week. Jesus, you remember, or from the week before. This is the continuation from Jesus meeting the two on the road to Emmaus. Now he's gone into the upper room and he meets the 11.
[00:06:32] And this is a moment for Jesus to make sure that they understand what their job is from this point forward.
[00:06:40] Listen, why did Jesus stick around for 40 days after the resurrection?
[00:06:45] This is a question we really need to have answered. And if you think about it, it's not like he's bored. It's not like he wasn't anxious to get back to the Father. In fact, several times he talked about, I can't wait to get back to the Father, he told his disciples, but instead of going directly back to the Father after he rose from the dead, he stuck around for 40 days.
[00:07:08] And the reason he stuck around for 40 days was because he wanted to prove to us, to give us every reason to believe, every reason to be a solid witness of his message and his mission.
[00:07:23] He's looking to drive the passion home of those who witness his life and his death and his resurrection. And the Bible actually says that during that 40 day period, hundreds of people actually saw Jesus Christ.
[00:07:38] He did this for us.
[00:07:40] He waited to go back to the Father because he wanted us to be solid in our belief system, to be solid in our witness for him.
[00:07:51] So let's jump in in Luke. This is the book that we've been studying together.
[00:07:55] And we now come to the end of the book of Luke, chapter 24, last couple of verses, and we're going to pick up at verse 36. So if you're using your Bibles or your, your devices, you can turn to Luke 24:36. Here's what it says. It's up on the screen as well.
[00:08:11] As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them. This is after he showed himself to the two on the road to Emmaus, which I think was Clopas and his wife Mary. We don't know for sure. We know it was Clopas, but my guess is it was his wife as well. But you'll have to jump in on that message to see why that's the case. But after he appears to the people on the road to Emmaus, then he goes and he appears to the 11 who are in the upper room.
[00:08:39] As they were talking about these things, Jesus stood among them and said to them, peace to you, which in Hebrew is shalom.
[00:08:47] But they were startled and frightened and they thought they saw a ghost.
[00:08:52] And he said to them, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. I love that. He says, why are you doubting? Like, look at me, see me. You can see. And they were having a tough time believing. And mostly because I think they didn't want to let themselves believe.
[00:09:19] They loved Jesus. They had given their lives to his mission.
[00:09:23] They were disciples, literally followers of him.
[00:09:26] He raises from the dead. They hear the story, this is the same day, but they're a little scared to let themselves actually believe.
[00:09:37] They had seen him die. They'd seen him get wrapped up in grave clothes. They had seen him get put into a grave with a big stone rolled across it. They had observed all of these things. So it's really hard to believe that this person is now alive again.
[00:09:52] So he says, see my hands and my feet? If you look at that word see, it's actually, we read it like, see my hands and my feet? Just look at them. But in actuality, that is a Greek word that means examine under a microscope.
[00:10:06] Like, don't just see what you see, but consider what it is that you're observing. Look at it and examine it like it was under a microscope. Touch the surface of something, literally is what it means. Understand the composition of it. Because the. They thought he was a ghost.
[00:10:23] And so he said, no, you got to understand, this is flesh and blood.
[00:10:28] And he goes further in verse 40. And when he had said this, he Showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still. What church?
[00:10:36] They still disbelieved. I mean, they didn't want to let themselves believe that this might be true. They loved him that much. I get it.
[00:10:46] But while they still disbelieved for joy and they were marveling, he said to them, have you anything here to eat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate it before them. Why would he do that?
[00:11:03] To show them he wasn't a ghost. Ghosts don't have digestive systems, as far as I know. And if they did, it would be really disgusting to watch because you can see through ghosts, right? So this is Jesus saying, listen, I'm not a spirit, I'm not a ghost. Watch me eat. And they sat there and watched him eat food in front of them. I love this because Jesus is condescending himself to help us understand. He didn't raise as a spirit. He rose as a body, a flesh and blood body with marks in his hands and marks in his feet and a body that eats and drinks. Isn't that crazy?
[00:11:41] If you are part of a religion that believes that Jesus rose from the dead only in spirit form, that is a cult that goes directly against all of these verses that we're reading this morning.
[00:11:54] Jesus went to extreme lengths in front of his disciples to say, examine, look, don't just look, but watch. Watch me eat. Watch me eat this food.
[00:12:06] And he wanted their senses to be impacted. He wanted them to hear his voice, to see his body, and he wanted them to feel what they were going through. Their senses were impacted by this new truth. Now, having said all that, this is not what Jesus refers to when he says, you are my witnesses.
[00:12:30] He's not saying, you need to know the facts. And the facts are, I have risen from the dead.
[00:12:37] Jesus is not saying you just need to know facts.
[00:12:43] What you really need to know is something deeper than the facts. This is what he means by witness.
[00:12:50] But he starts with what they already know, verse 44. And he said to them, these are my words that I spoke to you when I was still with you. Everything written about the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled now. He starts with what they already know up here, what they already have digested in their minds their entire lives. They knew the Torah, they knew the prophets, they knew the Psalms. And Jesus says to them, you need to understand everything that you have learned from Torah, from prophets, from the Psalms. Everything has been about me.
[00:13:23] So he starts with what they already Know, it's not just enough to tell people that he has risen. It's not just enough to give people apologetics, and it's not just to win a dispute over whether he rose from the dead or he didn't rise from the dead.
[00:13:36] The key is the gospel is far more than just knowing facts.
[00:13:41] The gospel is about a witness that is deeper than just knowing stuff.
[00:13:46] This is why he begins here with them.
[00:13:49] He says, you know all this stuff, you've memorized Old Testament stuff, you know about the prophets, you've celebrated festivals in the Jewish system your whole lives, you know this stuff, but you don't understand it, because only if you know me will I bring meaning to all that stuff.
[00:14:12] Because all that stuff, all those verses you've memorized, all that Sunday school stuff that you have done, all of those festivals and all of those feasts, you've done all this stuff, but you never realized that it's all about me.
[00:14:29] The Gospel is far more than just facts. I love that he goes to the Pentateuch, he goes to the law, he goes to the writings of the Psalms. Moses was written 1400 years before Jesus. He said everything. Moses wrote the whole Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, all those things written about me. And then he said, and you know the Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha, and you know all of these Old Testament prophets, all, all the way back from Abraham, all that stuff is about me. And you know all the psalms, you've sung these psalms your whole lives. All that stuff is about me.
[00:15:05] The psalms were written way back in David's day, thousand years before Jesus. The prophets were 700 years before Jesus. And Jesus says all that stuff just so you know, so you can really see and examine and microscope look at this stuff.
[00:15:22] All that stuff is about me. The witness was to truly understand and comprehend that Jesus message alone is absolutely true.
[00:15:30] And the witness that we know today, the witness that we know in human history, is about the fact that Jesus is the center of the universe.
[00:15:40] Then in verse 45, he says, then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
[00:15:45] That had to be a moment like, have you ever read the cartoons where a little light bulb appears over somebody's head?
[00:15:52] This is what that means.
[00:15:54] All that stuff that they'd learned their entire lives. And then ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, that's what that meant. Because it's not just about the facts.
[00:16:06] Do you know Hitler studied to be a priest?
[00:16:09] It's not just about facts. Facts don't do anything. It's about Something that changes you.
[00:16:18] A witness that makes a difference.
[00:16:20] Jesus not only enabled them to understand the law and the prophets and the psalms, but he also reminded them of what he had taught them. And he explained how it all fit together.
[00:16:30] This is the beginning of what Jesus meant by witness. They were not experiencing simple facts anymore.
[00:16:37] Now they knew what they knew to be true and had already changed their lives.
[00:16:43] And it was about to change them radically.
[00:16:45] Everything they experienced validated Jesus message and his mission.
[00:16:52] Verse 46. And then he said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. And there we have is written. This is the Gospel.
[00:17:12] Jesus meant by witnesses understanding the Scriptures not just as factual, but as life changing truth.
[00:17:22] Now you understand the Scripture, Christ needs to suffer. And then you think about all those Old Testament passages that they knew and they never put it together.
[00:17:31] Like surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
[00:17:35] Isaiah, it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
[00:17:39] In psalms it talks about all of his bones were put out of joint as he hung on the cross. And they knew those psalms and they knew that they were written thousand years earlier. But they never understood it was all about Jesus.
[00:17:54] And then he explained all of this had to be done because there needs to be repentance found only in the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:18:01] And then they remembered all his words. If anyone comes to me, I will in no wise cast them out. Behold the Lamb of God, John the Baptist said, who takes away the sins of the world? And they remember, maybe John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Maybe all that came rushing back to them. I don't know how it was, but I know all those light bulbs went over above their heads. Ding, ding. I finally understand.
[00:18:29] And then they knew what it was to be the witness that Jesus was calling them to be. Because the next verse, verse 48 says, you are witnesses of these things.
[00:18:41] You are witnesses of these things. What things? Everything from the Old Testament. Everything Jesus had ever taught them. The resurrection, yes, was a part of it, but it was so much more than that.
[00:18:55] He looks at all of these disciples and he says, now listen, now that you get it, now you must be witnesses of it.
[00:19:04] This is what you know, now this is what you do.
[00:19:08] Witness literally means what we do now that we know the Gospel is true and that it has been accomplished.
[00:19:16] Witness is not just simply seeing something. It's not just testifying on the behalf of that an event has occurred.
[00:19:24] It's understanding something more, something deeper.
[00:19:29] How do we know that it's more than just facts? How do we know that he's not just saying to them, no, you know what? I just need you to witness that I rose from the dead.
[00:19:38] I'll prove it to you. Let me ask you two questions.
[00:19:41] How many people were at the Resurrection and saw Jesus rise from the dead?
[00:19:51] None.
[00:19:52] Not that we know of.
[00:19:55] Maybe the guards.
[00:19:56] Maybe the guards did. But the second question is, how many people witnessed the power of the resurrection?
[00:20:04] Thousands. In fact, even today, thousands. You could say hundreds of thousands. People who actually saw Jesus walk out of the grave.
[00:20:13] I think the guards might have been there. Maybe they passed out. I don't know. All I know is when the women got there on Easter morning, already empty.
[00:20:22] Zero.
[00:20:23] People who saw the resurrection, but people who witnessed the power of the resurrection.
[00:20:28] Too many to be counted.
[00:20:30] I am one of those people.
[00:20:33] I am one of the people who have witnessed the power of Jesus resurrection. Because that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:20:41] And that has changed the lives of thousands and hundreds and millions of people around the world, throughout every culture and every civilization.
[00:20:52] People who have witnessed the power of the resurrection.
[00:20:55] Remember, witness is somebody who testifies. Here's what he actually says in Acts 1:8.
[00:21:00] Another moment that we read about. This is right before his ascension. But you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. More than just witnessing an event, but testifying to the power of what the resurrection actually means.
[00:21:21] Examining the story, finding these things to be true. In fact, in First Timothy 3:16, we have even a more understanding of what these things actually mean. Not just the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. It's the whole gospel. This is what we witness. He was manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world and taken up into glory. This is what we witness to.
[00:21:50] How many of you were at the Resurrection?
[00:21:54] None of us.
[00:21:55] But we are called to be witnesses of the power of. Of the resurrection.
[00:22:00] We are called to be witnesses of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:22:06] It's more than just seeing an event.
[00:22:09] It's being a witness to the power of what Jesus can do in the life of an individual.
[00:22:15] We witness about Jesus more than what can just be seen.
[00:22:21] This helps us in how we witness today. By the way, I know some of you get frustrated when you talk to somebody and you try and explain to them how Jesus loves them and how his resurrection can change their lives.
[00:22:33] And you explain it to them over and over and over again. And it's just like they don't get it. They don't understand it. It doesn't get through the cerebral cortex.
[00:22:43] And to be honest with you, if you looked at the resurrection, it's very difficult to disprove the resurrection simply by factual, factual observation of the event.
[00:22:55] No manuscripts have ever been found to disprove the Bible. Did you know that there's never been a manuscript ever found over 2000 years that has ever gone against the Bible.
[00:23:06] I mean, it's an amazing thing because we have found literally hundreds and thousands of manuscripts and they all agree we like to do apologetics. Apologetics is simply trying to explain the facts and how it's very difficult to argue with the facts. But the witness that Jesus is talking about isn't just apologetics. It's not just facts.
[00:23:28] It's something deeper than that.
[00:23:30] The definition of our witness is a faith that is lived out in real time, not just facts that we regurgitate.
[00:23:39] How do I know that?
[00:23:42] Because, to tell you the truth, there was one group of beings that did witness Jesus walking out from the tomb.
[00:23:54] There was one group.
[00:23:56] There were angels and there were demons.
[00:24:02] They were there.
[00:24:03] Most certainly. They were there and they witnessed the event.
[00:24:11] Listen, if facts saved you, heaven would be full of demons because demons believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Did you know that they were there? In fact, I'll give you a verse in case you're wondering if that's true or not. James 2:18 says, Someone will say to you, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one.
[00:24:37] Super.
[00:24:39] You do? Well, it's sarcastic. Fantastic. You believe that God is one. Fantastic. Even the demons believe that and shudder.
[00:24:49] You know what that tells me?
[00:24:51] Facts don't get you to heaven. Faith does.
[00:24:55] It's not witnessing an event that gives you a relationship with God. It's not just being right.
[00:25:04] It's what that moment does in here.
[00:25:09] It's what that moment does to change you.
[00:25:14] It's not about just facts. It's about faith.
[00:25:19] So the question is, how do we be the best witness without losing heart? How do we constantly tackle disbelief regardless of the facts? Verse 49. He goes on to say, behold, I'm sending the promise of my Father upon you. Stay in the city, stay in Jerusalem until you're clothed with power from on high. What he means by this is the Holy Spirit was about to come. After he rose, after he ascended to heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit. And that is the power that we have in our witness.
[00:25:49] What that means is the first thing that the Holy Spirit does is he changes us.
[00:25:56] And that makes our witness believable.
[00:26:00] Somebody says they're a Christian, but there's no change in them. There's no power of God at work within them.
[00:26:06] They probably are not a believer.
[00:26:09] Because if you're a believer, if you're a follower of Jesus, if you are a full fledged Christian and you believe the gospel to be true, the power of God will change you. It'll change the way you live, it'll change the values you have, it'll change the way you speak, it'll change the way you raise your children, it'll change the way you look at the future.
[00:26:30] It'll change everything about you. Because the power of God that comes to us through the Holy Spirit, which Jesus sent after his ascension, that power of God makes us witnesses.
[00:26:42] It gives power oomph to our witness for Jesus Christ.
[00:26:48] Jesus says, listen, this is what you know.
[00:26:51] You know the prophets, you know the Old Testament, this is what you know. You know everything I've said to you. You know the message.
[00:26:57] This is what you do.
[00:26:59] Go and be my witnesses, Wait for the power of the Holy Spirit and then start changing the world.
[00:27:05] And then he says, this is what I do.
[00:27:08] I will send the Holy Spirit to give you muscle.
[00:27:13] They have the message, they have the mission, and now they have the muscle through the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:19] Now, Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, but Luke wrote another book in the Bible. Do you know what other book that Luke wrote?
[00:27:28] Acts.
[00:27:30] Acts continues where Luke, the Gospel drops off.
[00:27:35] And so if you start reading in Acts, Luke the author picks up in Acts and begins where he left off in the Gospel two years earlier after he finished the Gospel of Luke. And here's what we read in Acts. Listen to what he picks up, how he begins to write. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem. Sound familiar? This is what Jesus told them to do at the end of the book of Luke, but wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me for. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. All right, that's what he just said at the end of the book of Luke.
[00:28:13] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my. And here he picks up where he left off. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. You need power to be the kind of witness that God calls you to be.
[00:28:30] Jesus said, you can go out and tell people facts, but that won't change anybody's ideas.
[00:28:35] That never has changed a life.
[00:28:38] What you need to do is you need to be working through the power of the Holy Spirit who is changing you so that he can begin to change others through your testimony, through your witness.
[00:28:49] I love the fact that Jesus never calls us to judge.
[00:28:53] He doesn't say, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my lawyers.
[00:28:59] He never says, you will be my judges.
[00:29:02] He doesn't say, you will argue facts and you will make people feel bad because they don't pay attention and they don't want to believe. He doesn't say any of that. What he says is, you will be my witnesses.
[00:29:13] In other words, he calls us not to judge, but to simply witness.
[00:29:20] And that is extremely frustrating, isn't it?
[00:29:25] Because I live in a world where I'm going, that's not right.
[00:29:29] And I live in a world where I turn on the news and I go, that's not right.
[00:29:33] And I live with other people and they're making decisions and I'm going, that's not right.
[00:29:39] And everything in me wants to say, okay, Jesus said this, and you're doing this, so you're wrong. Don't you understand that? But we're not called to be lawyers. We're not called to make a case.
[00:29:50] We're called to be witnesses to say what Jesus has done in our lives.
[00:29:55] And let the power of God through the Holy Spirit, change another life through our witness.
[00:30:02] The word witness is used in one way or another 29 times in the Book of Acts.
[00:30:08] Our job isn't to judge the world, but to be witnesses to the world so that we point to Jesus Christ through every single situation.
[00:30:19] I love the fact that Jesus ascends.
[00:30:22] Like, wouldn't it be cool to have Jesus come into our new place and sit down beside you? That'd be nice. But Jesus can only be in one place at one time.
[00:30:32] Jesus ascends so that he can send the Holy Spirit. Because when we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in us is a firm, solid theological concept. It he changes us so that wherever we go, the Holy Spirit goes with us. The presence of Jesus goes with us. So in reality, Jesus needed to ascend so that he could send the Holy Spirit so that wherever we are, we have the Holy Spirit with us. Which means we have Jesus with us. This is why Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.
[00:31:09] It's only because we have the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us.
[00:31:13] This is why the Holy Spirit is sent. I made up a list for you. Look at this list.
[00:31:18] He drives home our witness this, Witness that. Yeah, sorry, let me read this. Then a cloud took him out of their sight.
[00:31:28] The reason he ascends was because he wants to drive home the fact that we can be better witnesses every single day. As we see the Lord working in our lives, he goes to heaven because he prepares a place for us. He said that in John 14. Right. We witness that Jesus is our host number two. He sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us power. We witness that Jesus provides us with help.
[00:31:53] He takes a place of authority because all things are under his feet now. In fact, Jesus said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Jesus ascends because he takes his place of authority. He sits at the right hand of the Father. It's a place of authority. So we witness that Jesus is at the head of all things. He's in charge.
[00:32:13] What he says goes.
[00:32:16] He intercedes for the saints. Did you know that? Did you know that Jesus prays for you by name?
[00:32:25] Sometimes in my life, I'll meet somebody and they'll say to me, you know, Craig, I just want you to know that I. I have been praying for you by name.
[00:32:32] And it powerfully impacts me because they're a friend.
[00:32:37] But it would mean so much more for me to truly understand that Jesus, the God of the universe, prays for me by name.
[00:32:48] He intercedes for the saints. This means that he is our high priest. And we witness that Jesus is the one who is our intercessor between us and the Father.
[00:32:57] And finally, five, it's a launch point for his return.
[00:33:02] Jesus says, if I go, I will return. So that where I am, there you may be also. I go to prepare a place for you. Remember all of this from John 14.
[00:33:11] This means that we witness that Jesus brings us hope because no matter what happens in our lives, he comes again. We finish with communion at the end of the service because it's our reminder that we will see Jesus again. Someday all of these things just blow me away. He's our host. He's our help. He's our head. He's our high priest. He's our hope.
[00:33:33] If I live my life that way, I become the witness he wants me to be in this world in which I live.
[00:33:41] Because this world needs to have a host.
[00:33:44] They need to have a host that's preparing a place for them.
[00:33:49] Every funeral service I do, no matter if somebody is like a drug lord, I've never done that before. But no matter if they're a drug lord or they're all the way on the other end, it's some crazy big time saint, the person that nobody ever think would ever sin in their lives.
[00:34:10] The one thing that has in common with every single funeral service that I do is everybody is just praying to God that they go to heaven.
[00:34:18] And I want you to know that you don't even have to hope for that. It's a truth of scripture. He is our host. He's preparing a place for us. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit bears witness with you, you get to go to heaven someday. It is a done deal.
[00:34:34] He's our help. Whenever you need help. Isn't that a great thing? How many times in your life do you actually go, oh, I just need some help?
[00:34:41] Jesus is our help.
[00:34:43] You can call out to him. Anytime. We witness to other people, they look at him and they go, how can you get through this? And you. Because Jesus is my help.
[00:34:51] Takes a place of authority. He's the head. Why do you do this? Why do you go to church?
[00:34:55] Why do you live this way? Why do you raise your kids this way? Because Jesus is the head.
[00:35:00] I don't get to raise my children like I want to. I don't get to make the rules. He makes the rules. I insert them, I lay them out.
[00:35:07] Because he's the head. He's our high priest.
[00:35:10] When I don't know how to pray, I just remember that he's praying for me.
[00:35:14] And he's our hope.
[00:35:18] Whatever happens, I know that I'll see him again someday. We are witnesses to all of these things.
[00:35:26] It is meant to change our lives. It is meant to make us different people. How do I know that? Because the very next thing that Jesus says in verse 11, he goes to heaven.
[00:35:37] He ascends to the Father.
[00:35:39] And then angels show up.
[00:35:41] And they say to the people that are gathered there, all the disciples, they say to them, one thing, why are you standing here with your hands in your pockets?
[00:35:51] Is that Interesting.
[00:35:53] And it would be like. Because we just saw the most amazing thing in the world. We just saw a guy ascend to heaven from this hill. We. We saw him go up in a cloud. It's amazing. But the angels don't show up. And they don't say, well, tell me what that was about.
[00:36:09] They don't say, give me the facts. They say, why are you standing around?
[00:36:16] You need to get busy being a witness to what you have seen.
[00:36:23] It's not just simply to know the facts.
[00:36:26] We know that that witness means something more than that because of what the angels said to these people. Why are you standing around? Don't just stand around. Don't just learn the facts. Go tell someone.
[00:36:41] By studying Luke, we get to personally see how Luke lives out this message. The Acts, the Book of Acts. You know why it's called the Book of Acts?
[00:36:49] When your kids act out, they actually are doing things right.
[00:36:55] Acts is called actually the Acts of the Apostles. They are living out something that has changed them.
[00:37:02] The Book of Acts is called the Book of Acts because we get to see what the disciples acted like after they see and witness Jesus ascension and his resurrection.
[00:37:15] Then Jesus, last part of the verse. This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, the angels say, will come in the same way as you've seen him go into heaven.
[00:37:24] So get busy, because he's coming again. And we know that they did. Every one of the disciples were martyred. Eventually, every one of them gave their lives for the witness they had of Jesus Christ.
[00:37:37] So this is Mother's Day.
[00:37:39] And let me just park here just for a second and say to all you moms, to all you moms that have children of your own or have been moms that like Beth and I have appreciated so much that have come alongside of us and helped us raise our kids, to all of you ladies that have. That have just blessed so many people with this maternal instinct that God only gives to the female species, I just want to say thank you.
[00:38:08] You have been a blessing.
[00:38:11] And the moms that I appreciate the most are the moms who are witnesses of what Jesus can do to my kids.
[00:38:19] The moms that have made a difference because of the belief that they have had in Jesus Christ and the witness that goes far beyond this world of just making right decisions for my kids, but actually explaining to them and deciphering to them what it means to love Jesus Christ. My mom is here today. If you haven't met her, she's sitting in the back, right back there. And. And this is a Real treat that I get my mom to be with me on Mother's Day so you can swarm her after the service and tell her all the things that you would like to tell her about me. But I just want to say thank you to my mom because of all the things that she has done for me and the way that she has grown my family up. And then, of course, my wife Beth.
[00:39:01] The blessing that I have in Beth is that she loves Jesus. And that has passed on to my kids.
[00:39:08] She hasn't just taught them facts about Jesus. She hasn't just taught them facts. It's not like math. It's not like English.
[00:39:15] She has taught them what Jesus can do in a life.
[00:39:19] And if there's anything that I want my kids to know, I want them to know Jesus.
[00:39:24] I want them to know the power of his resurrection. I want them to worship. So when they come up and they sing up here, part of my thankful heart goes to my wife because she's a consistent witness of Jesus in our home.
[00:39:39] This is why we're good dads.
[00:39:41] This is why we're good workers.
[00:39:44] This is why we're good citizens.
[00:39:47] We don't do these things because we hope to God that maybe somebody will pat us on the back somewhere along the way.
[00:39:54] But for those of us that know Jesus, we know the only thing that can change the system of this world is a witness for Jesus Christ.
[00:40:02] And so we try to be the best people we can be. Not because we get it from ourselves, but because we get it from him.
[00:40:09] And we become the conduit through which Jesus loves others.
[00:40:17] According to Jesus, our mission is to do whatever we can to get the gospel off of the pages of Scripture and into the hearts of of those around us.
[00:40:28] So here's the point.
[00:40:30] Our witness continues Jesus mission as we are better witnesses, we are better conduits of God's grace into the lives of others.
[00:40:41] It's not something that we do for the Lord. It's something he does through us.
[00:40:47] If we're filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:40:50] Vance Havner says this people don't come to Christ at the end of an argument.
[00:40:57] The truth is, people come to Christ because of our witness.
[00:41:00] And so we want to be the best witnesses we can be. So I got three quick. So what's number one? You can only be a witness to the truth if the truth has changed you.
[00:41:09] Remember people who saw the resurrection? We don't know of anybody. But people who witness to the power of the resurrection. Innumerable. You're looking at one of Them. If Jesus raised from the dead, I want to get to know him. I want to get to love him, and I want other people to know him as well.
[00:41:28] Jesus says, you are my witnesses to the disciples. But the fact of the matter is, and he let them see him eat in front of them, touch them, and they still didn't believe. Listen, he fed 5,000 people with loaves and fish. Remember that? How many? Was it two loaves and five fish? Or was it five loaves and two fish? Whatever it was, it wasn't a lot. It was a snack. It was an appetizer. And he fed 5,000. But not all 5,000 believed.
[00:41:56] They witnessed. They saw the facts, but they didn't all believe.
[00:42:03] Witness is somebody has been impacted by the events that they have observed, and it has changed them from the inside out.
[00:42:10] And so Jesus asks us to be a witness only if we have been changed by what we have experienced because of Him. Number two.
[00:42:20] This witness extends to every part of life. There's not one part of life that is not meant to be impacted by my relationship with Jesus Christ.
[00:42:29] I find it amazing that God loves not one witness, but multiple witnesses. He doesn't tell Peter, you be the best witness and let all these other losers follow your lead.
[00:42:42] He says, you all to the disciples, you all are my witnesses. Then he sticks around and he appears to all kinds, hundreds and hundreds of people after the resurrection. And he says the same thing to them. You are my witnesses. Be witnesses of what you have seen. And the commission doesn't end there. It extends to us today.
[00:43:02] We are witnesses to those around us of what Jesus can do.
[00:43:08] One of Steve's favorite verses. I give it to you now. 2nd Corinthians 5:20. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.
[00:43:16] God makes his appeal through who? Church.
[00:43:20] We are ambassadors for Christ.
[00:43:22] God makes his appeal to the world through you, through me.
[00:43:30] He doesn't show up and shake the earth and appear in clouds and make.
[00:43:34] Make the Virgin Mary cry. He makes his appeal through us, individuals that have been impacted by him and our witnesses to the world around us. Every witness has been impacted by his truth and his power. And every witness is called to share their story.
[00:43:55] First Peter 3:15.
[00:43:57] But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect.
[00:44:10] How often should you be ready to give a defense for what God has done in your heart?
[00:44:17] Always.
[00:44:18] That means be ready any time of the day.
[00:44:23] We are Witnesses.
[00:44:25] And let me just tell you this.
[00:44:27] Sometimes God uses our weaknesses to make us the best witnesses.
[00:44:35] Sometimes it's when we feel like we can't do it.
[00:44:38] Sometimes when we feel like we're burned out.
[00:44:41] Sometimes those are the times that his witness is really the strongest.
[00:44:45] I've got a list here for you. Throw it up on the screen. You can take a picture of it if you want. We're empowered by the Holy Spirit, the power that keeps us going. Acts 1:8. This is just a breakdown. You receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, so you're empowered by the Holy Spirit. Be bold about testifying of Jesus Christ. You will be my witnesses. Be clear about your relationship with Jesus Christ.
[00:45:08] Don't be embarrassed. Don't be vague.
[00:45:11] If you love Jesus, tell someone you love Jesus.
[00:45:14] It's kind of like a grenade you throw into conversations once in a while, isn't it?
[00:45:19] It's like, I wish the world would change. Me too. They need Jesus.
[00:45:27] Be bold. You are my witnesses. Don't talk vaguely about God by just saying, yeah, I wish God would do things. Throw Jesus name out there and see what happens. Number three. Start where you are. Local first prophet is never accepted in his own hometown. That's tough. The toughest place to be a witness for Jesus is at home. Because they know you.
[00:45:49] This is why Jesus said, start in Jerusalem. Start in your comfortable spot. Start in your hometown.
[00:45:55] Faithfulness begins in the familiar.
[00:45:59] And then expand number four to broader places. Then go to Judea and Samaria. By the way, sometimes that means uncomfortable spaces. You know what the Jews thought of the Samaritans, right?
[00:46:10] They didn't like them very much. So Jesus is not just willy nilly pulling like, go to Greece and go to Rome and go to, go to Spain. He's not just pulling names out. He says, listen, go to Jerusalem. Then go to the hard places like Judea and Samaria, where you might die or get mocked.
[00:46:30] Sometimes it's uncomfortable, but pull a grenade pin there too.
[00:46:37] Jesus loves you.
[00:46:40] Number five. Keep the mission global to the ends of the earth.
[00:46:46] I hope to be doing this even more through our church.
[00:46:49] We have dipped our toe in helping global communities. And I'm looking to do that even more now that we have this place and we can get some more stability to our witness here in Carroll Stream. But we're looking to start in Carroll Stream, to extend to the outward areas, to go into uncomfortable places and then to extend globally so that people can know Jesus loves them and he's still making disciples. And we're going to witness as long as I have breath in my lungs to that truth.
[00:47:20] Which brings me to the next one.
[00:47:22] Witnesses, prepare for the next chapter. So my question is, Church, how are you preparing?
[00:47:28] How are you preparing?
[00:47:30] Witnesses, Last one. Prepare for the next chapter. What would be different if you really believed this truth changes you from the inside out?
[00:47:40] Are you a witness that's preparing?
[00:47:43] Are you a witness that's changing things?
[00:47:47] I want to finish with this.
[00:47:50] Luke writes his Gospel through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. On purpose, in a certain way.
[00:48:00] Does anyone here know how the Gospel of Luke starts?
[00:48:04] What's the first event?
[00:48:06] It's not the birth of Jesus.
[00:48:10] It starts with John, John the Baptist's birth. And it starts with an unbelieving priest who's offering worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Isn't that interesting?
[00:48:26] It starts with John's father, Elizabeth's husband, Zechariah, expressing disbelief that Jesus the Messiah was going to arrive. And because of that, what happened to Zechariah? Do you remember?
[00:48:41] He lost his speech.
[00:48:44] And the angel said, you're going to lose your speech until.
[00:48:48] Until the birth.
[00:48:51] Do you know how Luke ends?
[00:48:53] Luke begins with a priest who's supposed to have faith, who's supposed to be witness for Jesus, unbelieving and cursed because of it.
[00:49:03] And it ends. Luke ends his gospel with this verse. Look what it says. And they worshiped him. These are the disciples. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they were last verse continually in the temple. Blessing God. Isn't that interesting?
[00:49:22] Starts with disbelief.
[00:49:24] But then Jesus shows up. People turn to him. 40 days of ministry. And the disciples turn the Jerusalem upside down. And they start in the temple.
[00:49:37] Where Zechariah expressed disbelief as he was worshiping God.
[00:49:41] The unbelieving and silent priests now turned into loud and joyful saints.
[00:49:47] This book begins and ends in Jerusalem. But his next book, the Acts of the Apostle, would explain how the Gospel moved from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria, then to the uttermost parts of the world. And it never church. It has never stopped. Because Carol Stream wasn't even in the mix when Luke and Acts began writing.
[00:50:13] And as long as there are witnesses of the great and awesome work of Jesus Christ, his mission will continue.
[00:50:20] And it'll continue through us.
[00:50:22] We are witnesses, Church witnesses of the power of Jesus Christ.
[00:50:27] Long as there's lungs of.
