WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:02.720 Well, happy new year. 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:05.759 That's not that's not rhetorical. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:06.879 That's not rhetorical. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.160 We're a small group. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:09.679 We can we can have a conversation here. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:10.800 Happy New Year. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.759 I hope you had a good celebration. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.640 Some of you celebrated by going to bed by 10 o'clock, and I salute you. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:21.920 That's wonderful. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:28.879 As I think about the new year, there's just this sense of freshness. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:29.440 I don't know. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:30.960 I think most people are like this. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:39.200 Whether you have given up New Year's resolutions or not, there's just something about, you know, January 1st, the first day of the year. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:45.200 There's something fresh, something clean about it that makes us yearn for things. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:49.920 New Year's resolutions, they come into and fall out of favor all the time. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:57.679 I don't know where you are this year, but I think it just reflects something in the human condition that we we need refreshment. 00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:59.439 We need reinvigoration. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:03.039 And there's nothing wrong with that. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:08.079 We can get it with the changing of the seasons, we can get it with the changing of the calendar. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:10.719 We can get it with a new job or a move. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.959 We like fresh starts in different ways. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:26.319 But I think the reason we often become, or I become, cynical about New Year's resolutions isn't the resolutions themselves, it's my inability to keep them. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:28.799 I lacked the resolve. 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:30.400 I can't stay on the diet. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:39.280 I can't keep the morning routine that I so staunchly resolved at the beginning of the year. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:42.640 The problem, as always, is us. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:44.959 And that can be really discouraging, right? 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:50.560 Even with the hope of the new year, pretty quickly we can be discouraged in ourselves. 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:56.480 Well, today we're beginning a new series, preaching series in the book of Acts. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.680 And Acts is about new beginnings, right? 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.799 It is the birth of the church. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:12.319 It's the transition where Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, the sending of the Spirit, and this leadership transition, right? 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:22.080 As Jesus is now physically absent, the human apostles are now leading the church on a daily basis. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:28.960 We see prayer, we see preaching, evangelism, the explosive growth of the church. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:40.080 But as much as this book really is about the acts of the apostles, we get ourselves in trouble when we solely focus on them. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.039 You see, this is what Luke wanted us to see. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.560 Let's read verse one again. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:03:00.159 He says, In the first book, and that's he's talking about the gospel of Luke, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:39.599 And that's what I want us to see together this morning as we begin preaching through this new book of the Bible, as we begin a new year, that as much as the apostles will do through this book, and as much as we will do in this new year, Jesus is the one who continues to be at work in his church. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:45.759 Loving, caring, maturing, providing for. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.680 And that is very good news. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:50.719 So let's jump in. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:52.159 I've broken this chapter. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.759 We're looking at the whole of chapter one, but we'll we'll uh we will move through it quickly. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:02.960 I've broken it into three sections before, during, and after Jesus' ascension. 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:07.120 We'll see how he cares for his church throughout. 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.120 So first, Jesus cares for his church before the ascension. 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.360 Let's look at verses uh one through five again. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:29.199 In the first book, Otheophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:40.079 To them he presented himself alive after his sufferings by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:48.560 Luke tells us that Jesus stayed with his disciples after the resurrection, right? 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.279 He knew that he was going to the Father. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:59.439 In fact, when you read the gospels themselves, it almost looks like Jesus ascends to the Father immediately after the resurrection. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:06.079 But it's here in Acts that Luke tells us that Jesus stayed with his disciples for 40 days. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.160 Initially giving proofs, right? 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:23.680 We read about that with doubting Thomas, the disciple, that he wanted proof that this really was Jesus risen from the dead, not just a ghost, not an apparition, but literally a risen living body of the Lord. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:29.920 And then he spent time teaching them about the kingdom of God. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.920 He spent time with them. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:35.680 In fact, 40 days were told, and that number is significant. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.480 If you know the scriptures, the Old and the New Testament, this number 40 appears in a number of places. 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:48.240 It's the number of days of the flood, it's the days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:06:03.439 But perhaps more relevant to Luke and to us in this passage, it's the number of days that Moses and the elders of Israel spent in the presence of God on top of Mount Sinai before the giving of the Ten Commandments. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:14.800 Luke is signaling, and the Lord is signaling through this time frame of 40 days to these Jewish Christians that they are in the presence of God. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:20.959 And he's giving them a new law, the law of love. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:26.000 So here at the beginning of Acts, we see Jesus' heart for his disciples. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:28.560 He doesn't move too quickly to ascension. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.399 He spends time with them. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:39.519 He is with them to teach them, to love them, and to prepare them for what is to come because he knows it will be very difficult. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.319 All right, second, Jesus cares for his church at his ascension. 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:46.319 Let's look at verses six through eleven. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:55.360 So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:12.639 He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:19.759 And when he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:30.560 While they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:39.839 This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:58.399 Here at the day of Jesus' ascension, the disciples who have been being taught about the kingdom of heaven ask the question that has been nagging them, literally nagging them since the beginning of Jesus' ministry, not just these 40 days, but the last three years. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:03.759 Is it time now for the kingdom to be restored to Israel? 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:12.959 If you know the Old Testament, if you know the story, if you know the longing of Israel, you know that this was paramount to them. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:23.120 It was a good question, and it was a good desire for them to know, Lord, are you restoring things to the way they're supposed to be? 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.160 The way you've promised in the prophets that they will be again. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:43.200 But we know now, after the teachings of the New Testament, seeing what happens, that the answer to their question was complicated and so complicated that they couldn't receive the answer in that moment. 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:51.279 Jesus decided to take his time to reveal what was going to happen with the kingdom, that it wasn't just for Israel. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:09:01.840 The kingdom wasn't just going to be restored to this one nation, but it was going to be restored to the whole earth, and the whole earth was going to be renewed. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:10.480 But Jesus here cares for them, addressing that concern by setting limits to what they'll what they are to know. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:17.759 He says, God's timing for his kingdom coming is not for you to know. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.679 Jesus' words echoed Deuteronomy 29, 29. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:24.240 This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:33.759 It says, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:38.559 You see, God acknowledges I can't reveal everything to you. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:48.080 There are some things you can't know, some things you can't understand, but there is much that I do reveal to you, and that is for your comfort. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:58.639 And so Jesus here reassures his disciples and he says, there are things you can't know, you won't know, but know this that the Father knows. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:00.559 And he knows what he's doing. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.919 And so he encourages them to trust in him. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.480 But Jesus does reveal some very significant things. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:09.200 What does he say? 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:17.360 He tells them that they will be his witnesses in Judea and Samaria and to the very ends of the earth. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:23.200 And he tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit is sent to them. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.720 So he's telling them two incredibly significant things. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.360 First, his mission isn't complete. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:42.720 His mission isn't just to the nation of Israel, but they will be his witnesses carrying his message, carrying his announcement of the kingdom of God to the farthest reaches of the world. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:52.159 But not only that, not only will they have an important role to play, he is giving them his spirit to do the work. 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:58.879 And so you see this beautiful picture of inclusion, as God has always worked, right? 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:04.639 He always works through his imperfect people to bring about his kingdom ends. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.519 And yet he says, You will not do this in your own strength. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.360 You will not do this in your own power. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:10.960 You will do this in my power. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.399 In fact, I'm the one who will be doing it through you. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.000 And so Jesus reveals this incredible news to them. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:24.559 Yes, slightly disappointing, right? 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:27.200 We would love for the kingdom come today, Jesus. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:28.399 Can it come today? 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.320 Have you ever prayed that, Jesus? 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:32.639 Could you just come back today? 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:33.679 Amen. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:35.360 Am I the only one? 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:36.080 Okay. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:44.240 This announcement that the kingdom goes far beyond the borders of Israel. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.080 But he is working through his people, right? 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:57.360 Just as since the time of Abraham, God has worked through sinful, imperfect people to bring about his kingdom ends. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.000 And we see this same pattern at work today, beloved. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:01.120 Do we not? 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:05.840 God continues to work in and through his church. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:10.000 Very imperfect people like you and like me. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:15.840 And yet God is with us through the power of his spirit. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:24.799 If you have put your faith in Christ, then the power of God, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, dwells inside of you. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:30.480 Now you may not always feel powerful, but that's Jesus' upside down kingdom. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:36.639 Jesus' power is often and almost always revealed in weakness. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:46.960 So often the times when we feel the most weak is when the Holy Spirit is most powerfully working through us. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:59.919 And so the pattern that we see through the gospels and Jesus' own ministry and through the pattern of Acts, as we will see in the weeks to come, is the same pattern at work in us, in you, beloved. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:06.799 And it's this amazing uh picture, two sides of the same coin. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:17.360 One, God is absolutely working through this church, absolutely working through you in ways to change lives for eternity. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:21.600 And yet it's his work, it's his power. 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:33.600 It's not a weight he's put upon our back, something that we have to carry out, but it's something that he is doing, that we get to enjoy and work with him through the power of his spirit. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:38.320 It's like a child who goes with his mom or his dad into the workshop, right? 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:48.240 And and the parent, the mom, helps the little kid to hold the hammer in his hand and helps nail it in and helps sand down the wood. 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:56.799 And after hours, you know, depending on the kid's attention span, they look at this table they've built together, right? 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.000 And the kid has this great pride. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:03.600 Look what look what mom and I made together. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:04.159 Right? 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:09.200 Mom didn't need their child's help, and yet they truly made it together. 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:17.679 But it's the love of the parent, including the child, including them in the work to produce this beautiful object. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.720 This is what God is doing through us. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:25.919 And it's the joy in this gift that he's given us to participate. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:30.960 All right, third and finally, Jesus cares for his church after his ascension. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:49.840 We won't read this section because it's rather long and detailed, but after Jesus ascends into heaven, they return to Jerusalem, they go to the upper room, they're spending time praying, and through the Holy Spirit, he reveals that it's time to bring the number of the apostles back to twelve. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.080 Familiar with Judas Iscariot? 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:59.440 Betrayed the Lord, committed suicide, reduced the number of disciples or apostles from twelve to eleven. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:02.559 Peter says it's time to bring that number back up. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:11.600 Because again, here's another significant number the twelve disciples, the twelve apostles correlating to the twelve tribes of Israel. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:12.879 And so what do they do? 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.200 Peter lays out the requirements. 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:28.879 There needs to be someone who has been with us from the very beginning, from the time Jesus was baptized by John through Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, a witness to Jesus' resurrection. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:33.679 And that that leaves only two candidates who are named here in our passage. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:42.559 And so they they cast lots, which was an ancient practice for a way to see who God would choose. 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.519 And that's what's going on in this passage. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:50.399 The one named Matthew, he is chosen to be the twelfth apostle. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:55.279 An incredible honor, probably a lot of work, but an incredible honor for Matthew. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:57.440 And he's named here in the scriptures. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:15:58.159 But guess what? 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.720 He is never named again. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.440 Do you know why? 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.919 Because Matthew isn't the point. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:12.240 Matthew went about his work, I'm sure, with faithfulness and diligence with the other apostles. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:16.000 The point here is that Jesus remains at work. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:21.600 Through the casting of lots, Jesus provides leadership for his church. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:30.000 And so we see in this passage, the way Luke writes it, that Jesus is caring for the needs of his church. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.000 He knows they need leadership. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:33.200 He provides it. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.399 He cares about these details. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:43.679 Before, during, and after the ascension, Jesus is taking care of his bride, the church. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:52.480 Even as we see them pray, even as we see their faith at work, even as we see them preach and proclaim the gospel, doing very important work. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:17:03.519 What Luke wants us to see is this foundation that Jesus continues to do his missionary work through the church. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:12.640 Even as Jesus promised at the end of Matthew, that he is with us always, even to the very end of the age. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:18.480 And so, beloved, as we step into a new year, by all means, start the diet. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:20.559 Go to the gym. 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:24.720 Begin that new routine you have been dreaming of. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:30.960 But don't rest your well-being in how well you stick to that plan. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.599 Because we all fall short. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:48.720 Rather, rest in this, the knowledge that Jesus remains at the right hand of the Father, leading, loving, caring for, providing for his church. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:51.279 And by that I mean you. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:55.440 He knows every hair on your head. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:56.960 He knows your past. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:58.880 He knows what you're going through now. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:00.640 And he knows your future. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.559 And he is with you. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:11.119 Let that shape and form your identity for 2023, even as he works through you. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:18.880 Keep your eyes open to see all that Jesus will continue to do in and through you and through Christ the Redeemer. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:19.680 Amen. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:20.799 Let's pray. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:30.640 Our Father and our God, Lord, what a glorious truth that you have never left us. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:32.720 You have not forsaken us. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:52.960 And even to this very day, from the day you ascended, that we read here in Acts chapter 1, you have been at work caring for, leading, providing for your church, continuing your mission to proclaim the gospel in Judea and Samaria and to the outermost reaches of the earth. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 We love you and we thank you. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:57.759 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:18:58.720 Amen.