WEBVTT 00:00:16.091 --> 00:00:29.983 Our prayer has been that God would do his work in his way and that he would accomplish what he chooses to accomplish through us, and it is always a joy to see when God's people are gathered together here in his name. 00:00:29.983 --> 00:00:32.635 Today we are beginning a new series. 00:00:32.635 --> 00:00:34.561 It's just a three-week series. 00:00:34.561 --> 00:00:54.063 If you've been attending for a little while, you know that between Easter and uh Pentecost Sunday, we did a quick six week series on the book of Colossians, which helped us to think and point our attention to what it means to live the resurrected life. 00:00:54.063 --> 00:01:07.141 Today, as we celebrate and observe uh the birth of the church, we want to take the next three weeks to talk specifically about the church. 00:01:07.141 --> 00:01:11.397 What is the church Today? 00:01:11.397 --> 00:01:17.739 In this sermon today, I'm going to be speaking on the birth of the church. 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:20.709 Next Sunday, we're going to follow up and do the end of Acts 2, and we're going to be preaching on the life of the church. 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:24.617 Next Sunday, we're going to follow up and do the end of Acts 2, and we're going to be preaching on the life of the church. 00:01:24.617 --> 00:01:28.795 What does it look like to live within the life of the church? 00:01:28.795 --> 00:01:35.734 And then, our third week, we're going to be focusing on the service or the work of the church from Acts 6. 00:01:35.734 --> 00:01:37.837 So these are three topics. 00:01:37.837 --> 00:01:55.362 This series is intended to be somewhat instructional, typically when we do a sermon series or when we're preaching, we're going to be more expositional, walking our way through the text, learning, trying to understand exactly what God has for us from this. 00:01:55.362 --> 00:02:17.382 But starting today and for the next three weeks, including today, this is gonna be more instructional, and the idea behind this is so that we, as a church whether you're new here, whether you've been here for a little while that we as the church, can be reminded of who we are and why we're here and why we're called to do what we do. 00:02:17.382 --> 00:02:19.037 Why is it that we do what we do? 00:02:19.037 --> 00:02:22.399 What does God expect from us? 00:02:22.399 --> 00:02:30.641 So, if you're new here, this would be a great opportunity for you to be able to understand, perhaps, the foundation of Redeemer Church. 00:02:30.641 --> 00:02:40.737 But our hope is that is in line not just with what we want, but with the church as God designed it from the beginning. 00:02:40.737 --> 00:02:54.635 And so our hope, our desire, is to be able to look at these passages and acts and be able to understand what is the church, who are we, what are we called to do. 00:02:54.635 --> 00:02:58.980 So I'm going to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to Acts, chapter 2. 00:02:58.980 --> 00:03:01.745 Acts, chapter 2. 00:03:01.745 --> 00:03:09.639 Just to give you a basic timeline of where we land. 00:03:09.758 --> 00:03:11.806 In Acts, chapter 2, the Old Testament begins with creation. 00:03:11.806 --> 00:03:19.341 Man sinned against God, so there was the fall and there became separation between God and man. 00:03:19.341 --> 00:03:25.479 And then God began to work out a plan in which he was going to redeem the creation that he has made. 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:39.621 We sang songs that focused on that this morning, and as time continued on, there were ways in which God fulfilled his promises. 00:03:39.621 --> 00:03:53.532 He continued to deliver on the plan that he had given and he had given prophets, he had brought forth kings and he had fulfilled his promises all along the way. 00:03:53.532 --> 00:04:03.365 And the promise of the Old Testament mostly pointed to one key event, and that was God himself coming down to be with us. 00:04:03.365 --> 00:04:05.313 And so God comes down. 00:04:05.313 --> 00:04:09.121 His name was Jesus Emmanuel. 00:04:09.121 --> 00:04:17.437 God with us and he makes it possible for all the promises and all the prophecies to be fulfilled as they intended to be fulfilled. 00:04:17.437 --> 00:04:20.222 Prophecies to be fulfilled as they intended to be fulfilled. 00:04:20.222 --> 00:04:22.625 And so Jesus walked on the earth. 00:04:22.625 --> 00:04:31.935 He taught, he preached, he healed, he did great things, but the greatest of them, living a perfect life. 00:04:31.935 --> 00:04:33.558 In line with the law, he died on a cross. 00:04:33.558 --> 00:04:36.323 We just celebrated his resurrection. 00:04:36.323 --> 00:04:45.818 He was raised to life and by him being raised to life was given a guarantee for all of us who believe in him that we too would be raised to life. 00:04:45.818 --> 00:04:48.343 But then what happens? 00:04:48.343 --> 00:04:52.017 Great, Now we can start getting to work. 00:04:52.017 --> 00:04:52.939 All that's been done. 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:54.062 Well, then he just goes away. 00:04:54.062 --> 00:05:02.099 He ascends into the heavens and his followers are told stay put. 00:05:02.099 --> 00:05:06.986 What Stay put, you'll see. 00:05:06.986 --> 00:05:09.356 That's where we find ourselves here. 00:05:09.356 --> 00:05:11.375 He ascended into heaven. 00:05:11.375 --> 00:05:15.431 He was told, they were told to stay put, and that's where we are here Now. 00:05:15.772 --> 00:05:18.930 Before we read our text, I'm just going to share with you I enjoy podcasts. 00:05:18.930 --> 00:05:20.912 Before we read our text, I'm just going to share with you I enjoy podcasts. 00:05:20.912 --> 00:05:25.515 I enjoy particular podcasts that help you to learn new things, understand new things. 00:05:25.515 --> 00:05:53.296 One of my favorite podcasts over the years was a podcast by NPR called how I Built that, and this is a podcast where the host is interviewing people who have started businesses or companies, most of which we would probably know Businesses like Airbnb and Whole Foods and he goes all the way back to the origin story and he wants to ask them questions how did this come about? 00:05:53.296 --> 00:05:59.700 What happened to make you want to start this business and how did it become the business that it has become today? 00:05:59.700 --> 00:06:07.817 There's a lot of interesting things that you learn when you hear an origin story, for instance, the Airbnb, a multi-billion dollar company. 00:06:07.897 --> 00:06:08.899 How did it start out? 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:10.511 Was it a plan that they had in mind? 00:06:10.511 --> 00:06:14.361 That was a genius strategy? 00:06:14.361 --> 00:06:22.685 No, it was a couple guys who decided that they wanted to move to Silicon Valley because that's where entrepreneurs go and that's where they make it big. 00:06:22.685 --> 00:06:26.957 But they didn't know what kind of business they were going to start and they had a little bit of money to go on. 00:06:26.957 --> 00:06:34.151 So they moved here to Silicon Valley, up in the peninsula, and they started trying to figure out what they were going to do, what they were going to create. 00:06:34.151 --> 00:06:36.516 They started running out of money, right? 00:06:36.516 --> 00:06:39.802 So they decided we need to pay next month's rent. 00:06:39.802 --> 00:06:42.032 What do we have that we could market? 00:06:42.032 --> 00:06:47.543 We have a room and an air mattress, and you know what? 00:06:47.543 --> 00:06:48.264 There's a conference. 00:06:48.264 --> 00:06:51.538 Ironically, there's a conference in town and all the hotels are full. 00:06:51.538 --> 00:06:57.038 I wonder if we could throw up a website and advertise our airbed and our room. 00:06:57.038 --> 00:07:00.664 And so they did, and guess what they paid for that month's rent. 00:07:00.664 --> 00:07:03.857 That was great, and they closed the website down and it was done. 00:07:03.857 --> 00:07:06.317 That was it, until they needed to pay rent again. 00:07:06.317 --> 00:07:10.419 And then they said well, it worked the first time, let's see if we can do it again. 00:07:10.419 --> 00:07:21.911 And maybe we have some friends that have rooms and an airbed and maybe we can get them to put their space on our website and we can start. 00:07:21.931 --> 00:07:30.679 I'll tell you what, listening to this, this multi-billion dollar company came out of desperation and survival and an accident, and now these guys are billionaires and they're speaking into people's lives. 00:07:30.679 --> 00:07:36.725 There are other companies, like Whole Foods, where the founder had a vision of what he wanted. 00:07:36.725 --> 00:08:03.872 He curated exactly the kind of products that he wanted to sell, that had all the right ingredients, had all the right origin, and he curated it and provided a store in Texas where people could come who were snobs and frou-frou and who were into those sorts of things could buy stuff from them, and he insisted on it being the way it was, and they went through some hard times. 00:08:03.872 --> 00:08:16.918 Matter of fact, one of the iterations I don't know if you know this just as a fact that you can take with you one of the first names that they gave their store was Safer Way. 00:08:16.918 --> 00:08:17.299 They wanted. 00:08:17.299 --> 00:08:19.462 And they were asked were you afraid you were going to be sued? 00:08:19.462 --> 00:08:20.504 And they said we hope so. 00:08:20.504 --> 00:08:21.325 We wanted to be. 00:08:21.325 --> 00:08:24.300 It would give us great publicity, great marketing. 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.637 But then it became what it is. 00:08:26.637 --> 00:08:29.360 So there was a lot more intentionality, a lot more curation. 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:32.679 So what is it about the church? 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:38.522 What is it about the church that we can learn from this origin story? 00:08:38.522 --> 00:08:43.092 That tells us what we need to know about who we are and what we're called to do. 00:08:43.092 --> 00:08:53.423 I'm going to tell you right now that it did not happen by accident, and I'm going to tell you right now that there was a plan in mind that didn't involve in being sued. 00:08:53.423 --> 00:09:06.201 There was something designed long before this moment that we are going to read now in the scriptures that God had planned for us and for the world. 00:09:10.471 --> 00:09:20.576 Carlin read what happened on Pentecost and then she began to read part of what Peter's response was to what happened, and that's what we're going to focus on today. 00:09:20.576 --> 00:09:27.601 This is Peter's sermon, trying to explain to the people who are present there what just happened. 00:09:27.601 --> 00:09:29.572 What did we just encounter? 00:09:29.572 --> 00:09:31.295 What did we observe? 00:09:31.295 --> 00:09:34.262 So we're going to begin reading Acts 2, starting in verse 14. 00:09:34.262 --> 00:09:40.582 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them. 00:09:42.350 --> 00:09:54.842 Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words, for these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 00:09:54.842 --> 00:10:00.616 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel and this is what. 00:10:00.616 --> 00:10:02.260 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel and this is what Joel said. 00:10:02.260 --> 00:10:21.399 And in the last days it shall be God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my male servants and my female servants. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:31.898 In those days, I will pour out my spirit and they will prophesy, and I will show wonders in the heavens, above the signs of the earth, below blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 00:10:31.898 --> 00:10:35.212 The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon to blood. 00:10:35.212 --> 00:10:46.543 Before the day of the Lord comes, that great and magnificent day, and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:10:46.543 --> 00:10:51.240 Men of Israel, hear these words. 00:10:52.329 --> 00:11:01.098 Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God, with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. 00:11:01.098 --> 00:11:11.057 As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 00:11:11.057 --> 00:11:16.001 You crucified him and killed him by the hands of lawless men. 00:11:16.001 --> 00:11:25.809 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 00:11:25.809 --> 00:11:30.737 For God says, concerning him, I saw. 00:11:30.737 --> 00:11:39.057 For David says, concerning him, I saw the Lord before me, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 00:11:39.057 --> 00:11:53.319 Therefore, my heart was glad, my tongue rejoiced, my flesh also will dwell in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your Holy One see corruption. 00:11:53.319 --> 00:12:00.721 You have made known to me the path of life and you make me full of gladness with your presence. 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:14.981 Peter goes on to say brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried and his tomb is still with us to this day. 00:12:14.981 --> 00:13:01.478 Being, therefore, a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on the throne, he foresaw and spoke about what the resurrection of Christ that he would not abandon to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing, for God did not ascend into the heavens, or for David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. 00:13:01.478 --> 00:13:12.485 Let all of the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 00:13:12.485 --> 00:13:20.937 Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles Brothers, what shall we do? 00:13:20.937 --> 00:13:30.799 And Peter said to them repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:41.919 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord, our God, calls to himself. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:48.237 And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying save yourself from this crooked generation. 00:13:48.237 --> 00:13:57.581 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3000 souls. 00:13:57.581 --> 00:13:59.274 This is the word of the Lord. 00:14:00.952 --> 00:14:06.617 I think Peter did a pretty good job on his sermon, and that's probably it for today, right, I'm just kidding? 00:14:06.617 --> 00:14:14.259 Just kidding, I mean, if you got someone preaching and 3,000 souls are saved, that's solid, right? 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.583 I want us to look at this. 00:14:16.583 --> 00:14:19.097 Like I said, there are so many things that are referenced here. 00:14:19.097 --> 00:14:47.823 There are so many things that Peter brings up here and that he says that we could dig into this sermon for weeks, and so my goal here is not to unpack everything that's being said here and everything that's being done, but there are three very foundational things that I want us to take away today as to who we are, to help us understand who is Redeemer Church and who is the church at large. 00:14:47.823 --> 00:14:51.952 So I have three very critical things that I want us to look at today. 00:14:51.952 --> 00:14:56.017 This lies at the foundation of who we are. 00:14:56.017 --> 00:15:03.145 The first thing is that the church connects to the big story. 00:15:03.145 --> 00:15:08.493 The church connects to the big story. 00:15:09.735 --> 00:15:14.303 Pastor Royce and I were talking with a graphic design artist. 00:15:14.303 --> 00:15:25.278 We're looking at trying to get our logo rebranded, or get all of our branding redone, because we're getting ready to put a sign on the bell out front. 00:15:25.278 --> 00:15:30.302 We want to make sure we have the sign that we want for long, long term. 00:15:30.302 --> 00:15:37.094 And the graphic designer asked us he's like, tell me a little bit about your church, tell me when it started, Tell me the history. 00:15:37.094 --> 00:15:40.339 And we both kind of looked at each other like well, that's kind of complicated. 00:15:40.339 --> 00:15:57.083 It's kind of complicated because Redeemer Church started 11 years ago because the church where we met at that time closed down and they weren't going to continue operating and they wanted to bring in somebody new to help plant a new church. 00:15:57.083 --> 00:16:05.680 And so Pastor Bob was called to come and replant this church and in our connections he asked me to come here and join him 11 years ago. 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:09.659 But that church that we replanted has a history. 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:13.948 It was Mission Peak Baptist and before that it was Calvary Baptist. 00:16:13.948 --> 00:16:19.418 But in 2021, we merged with two other churches and they have all their own story. 00:16:19.418 --> 00:16:23.299 We have Hillview Baptist, which is where we are now. 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:27.620 That's been around since the 50s and they merged in with us. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:31.558 And then we have Alder Avenue Baptist Church over in Fremont. 00:16:31.558 --> 00:16:34.188 That merged with us and they've got their whole story. 00:16:35.012 --> 00:16:36.337 So which story do you want? 00:16:36.337 --> 00:16:41.120 Which story is the story of our church. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:53.913 Well, I'm going to tell you, as important and as interesting and as amazing as some of those stories are, there is not a story more important than what we find here in the scriptures. 00:16:53.913 --> 00:17:03.945 The story of our church is not all of these other meandering stories. 00:17:03.945 --> 00:17:05.355 There is one story. 00:17:05.355 --> 00:17:07.356 It is the big story. 00:17:07.356 --> 00:17:10.719 And where do we find the story? 00:17:10.719 --> 00:17:15.670 This is one of the key things that I want us to understand is where do we find the big story? 00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:22.648 It is through, first of all, the Word of God, through special revelation. 00:17:22.848 --> 00:17:24.333 Who does Peter appeal to here? 00:17:24.333 --> 00:17:29.011 Where does he find the way to answer these people who are asking what's going on? 00:17:29.011 --> 00:17:29.913 What does he do? 00:17:29.913 --> 00:17:33.802 The majority of his response is scripture. 00:17:33.802 --> 00:17:36.127 He goes to scripture. 00:17:36.127 --> 00:17:39.877 We, as Redeemer Church, we are anchored in the word of God. 00:17:39.877 --> 00:17:41.990 We trust the word of God. 00:17:41.990 --> 00:17:46.082 The word of God is where we find out everything of who we are and where we are. 00:17:46.082 --> 00:18:01.622 This is what we see modeled by Peter in this first sermon on the birth of the church, and it has been a hallmark of the church for centuries that the word of God is foundational to everything that we believe and everything that we practice. 00:18:01.622 --> 00:18:09.816 So the first thing that we understand is that we understand this story through special revelation. 00:18:09.816 --> 00:18:12.221 He talks, he points out to Joel. 00:18:12.221 --> 00:18:13.952 What does he recognize from Joel? 00:18:13.952 --> 00:18:26.377 There's a promise and a prophecy regarding what the spirit is going to do in the latter days, in the end times, and he just says guys, this is what we know, this, we've been reading this for centuries. 00:18:26.377 --> 00:18:27.735 This is what's happening. 00:18:27.970 --> 00:18:34.802 He appeals to Psalm 16, where David is talking about what he identifies as speaking of the resurrection. 00:18:34.802 --> 00:18:38.200 The resurrection should have been expected. 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:40.315 This should not be a mistake. 00:18:40.315 --> 00:18:42.264 He appeals to Psalm 110, the resurrection should have been expected. 00:18:42.264 --> 00:18:42.886 This should not be a mistake. 00:18:42.886 --> 00:18:50.360 He appeals to Psalm 110, where he sees the promise and the prophecy regarding Christ's ascension and his reign and his ruling in the heavenly places. 00:18:50.360 --> 00:19:01.721 The church must be committed to understanding who God is and what he is doing and who we are and what we are to do from scripture. 00:19:02.550 --> 00:19:07.726 And the Reformation goes, doubles down and says by scripture alone. 00:19:07.726 --> 00:19:16.862 And so we come to understand who we are and what God has called us to do through Scripture alone. 00:19:16.862 --> 00:19:26.058 Scripture is where we discover the truth about God, his plan and how we got here, where we are and what we're going to expect in the future. 00:19:26.058 --> 00:19:39.500 God recorded everything that we need to know about His story, the story that he is writing right now to redeem mankind and to reconcile all things to himself. 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:44.298 We can find everything that we need to know right here in scripture. 00:19:44.298 --> 00:19:54.256 This is why the church of King Jesus, this is why we, as Redeemer Church, are devoted to reading, studying and proclaiming the Bible. 00:19:54.256 --> 00:19:59.521 The scripture is given to us by God himself for his church. 00:20:01.192 --> 00:20:13.237 The other way that we know the story and I coined this word, you're probably never gonna see this in a theology book, but I coined this idea secondly, through liturgical revelation. 00:20:13.237 --> 00:20:18.457 You're like, okay, I want to see this laid out here. 00:20:18.457 --> 00:20:23.802 All right, so he reveals his story to us through liturgical revelation. 00:20:23.802 --> 00:20:26.558 Well, you might say, where do you see that in the text? 00:20:26.558 --> 00:20:28.176 Well, what was Pentecost? 00:20:28.176 --> 00:20:31.036 What was Pentecost? 00:20:31.036 --> 00:20:33.735 It was a festival. 00:20:33.735 --> 00:20:36.038 You're like, wait a minute, I thought it was the spirit. 00:20:36.038 --> 00:20:42.418 Yeah, but Pentecost existed a long time, thousands of years before this moment. 00:20:44.291 --> 00:20:45.737 Pentecost was a festival. 00:20:45.737 --> 00:20:50.201 Pentecost was also called the festival of weeks. 00:20:50.201 --> 00:20:55.879 It was seven weeks, 49 days, and on the 50th day there was a celebration. 00:20:55.879 --> 00:21:23.503 That celebration was to celebrate the harvest of wheat, and people would come and give the first fruits of what had been harvested and, over time, over the story of the Israel nation, there were things that happened within that same time period, around Pentecost and the festival of weeks, One of those things being the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. 00:21:23.503 --> 00:21:38.817 And so, when they be as as as the uh, as the Jewish people began to practice and celebrate this festival, which came 50 days after Passover, they began to come. 00:21:38.817 --> 00:21:43.682 This was a pilgrimage festival where people would travel from all over the world. 00:21:43.682 --> 00:21:45.536 A little foreshadowing here. 00:21:45.536 --> 00:21:52.796 People from all over the world would come to Jerusalem to give their sacrifices, to give their worship. 00:21:52.796 --> 00:21:59.266 They would come there to celebrate this pilgrimage festival of Pentecost. 00:21:59.266 --> 00:22:09.099 And so they come here year after year after year practice, they are giving and they are praising God for his provision. 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:17.214 And I think it's interesting that part of what they would do is they would give a wheat. 00:22:17.214 --> 00:22:22.471 It was a celebration of the wheat harvest and they would give the first fruits of that wheat harvest. 00:22:22.471 --> 00:22:29.535 And I just find it interesting that one of the things that Jesus says to them behold, the field is white to harvest. 00:22:29.535 --> 00:22:32.841 Let's pray that God sends forth his messengers. 00:22:32.841 --> 00:22:39.382 And guess what happens on this Pentecost, when the first fruits are given, 3,000 people are harvested. 00:22:39.382 --> 00:22:52.673 This comes in line with the rhythms that God had already planned for his people to participate in over generations. 00:22:52.673 --> 00:22:56.783 So where does liturgical revelation come in? 00:22:56.783 --> 00:23:06.293 Well, I believe that when these people understood what happened, and they'd been practicing this year after year after year after year, and all of a sudden this happened and they started putting two to two together. 00:23:06.554 --> 00:23:08.779 This is kind of like another podcast that I really like. 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:15.623 Right, there's a podcast called the Way I Heard it and it's kind of I don't know if you grew up listening to Paul Harvey. 00:23:15.623 --> 00:23:17.999 Paul Harvey would tell these stories on the radio. 00:23:17.999 --> 00:23:25.740 For you younger people, radio is a thing that you don't use in the car anymore, that it has little dials and stuff. 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:34.000 Yeah, so we listened to the radio and Paul Harvey would give this story and it had kind of like these things that you're familiar with and kind of obscure. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:40.633 And at the very end he would give a hook line and you're like that's who you're talking about, that's what happened here. 00:23:40.633 --> 00:23:42.557 Oh, my word, like I didn't know that. 00:23:42.557 --> 00:23:44.122 That was the story behind it all. 00:23:44.122 --> 00:23:48.278 And Mike Rowe does this podcast the way I heard it. 00:23:48.278 --> 00:23:56.413 He does the same thing and you're like, oh, this, this, who's he talking about? 00:23:56.413 --> 00:23:57.758 And then, wow, I had no idea. 00:23:57.758 --> 00:23:58.781 And I think that's what happened here. 00:23:58.801 --> 00:24:01.651 I think that this story had been lived out year after year after year. 00:24:01.651 --> 00:24:06.450 What is the point of Pentecost, what is the point of the sacrifices, what is the point of all of this? 00:24:06.450 --> 00:24:11.095 And they're practicing it, they're doing it year after year and then, all of a sudden, the Spirit comes down and whoo, whoo. 00:24:11.095 --> 00:24:12.497 And then, all of a sudden, the spirit comes down and whoo, whoo. 00:24:12.497 --> 00:24:15.200 And then, all of a sudden, he gives them revelation and insight. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:30.959 It's like Pentecost, the coming of the spirit, and this is the word that this is the practice that God has been wanting them to experience, so that they not just understood it and know it, but they felt it when it happened. 00:24:30.959 --> 00:24:34.574 This is the story. 00:24:35.696 --> 00:24:55.413 The Pentecost intersected with all these things, and so it's helpful for us to think this that through the liturgical rhythms of the people of God and this is why we are committed to liturgy If you're new here, you might think, man, it was a lot of sitting up, standing up and sitting down. 00:24:55.413 --> 00:24:57.580 There's a lot of saying things together and stuff. 00:24:57.580 --> 00:24:59.793 Well, there's a purpose behind that. 00:24:59.793 --> 00:25:03.659 Our heart are shaped by our habits. 00:25:03.659 --> 00:25:17.817 Our hearts are shaped by our rhythms and, like Daniel talked about today with confession, we get into the habit of doing these things and it begins to shape what we love and shape who we are, and it changes what we do. 00:25:17.817 --> 00:25:22.312 And so what we do together in liturgy is for that purpose. 00:25:22.312 --> 00:25:37.418 But there are also ways in which, even as we take the Lord's Supper, where, as we commit to taking that each week, there are ways in which God reveals himself to us through the taking of this table that we're committed to week after week. 00:25:37.418 --> 00:25:46.710 That is going to open our eyes to understand who he is, what we are and what we ought to be, and so there is a liturgical revelation that happens. 00:25:46.850 --> 00:25:53.694 So, through the liturgical rhythms of God's people, we rehearse and remember the truth of the story of God and the gospel. 00:25:53.694 --> 00:26:07.606 It is through the liturgy and the traditions or, if you're gun-shy of the word, traditions, not traditionalism, but traditions, we can say the habits of the church that we are formed and reformed. 00:26:07.606 --> 00:26:18.793 God shapes us into followers and lovers of him and lovers of one another, through the liturgical rhythms of the church. 00:26:18.793 --> 00:26:30.056 Thirdly, god gives us the story through his unmistakable presence, the unmistakable presence of God himself. 00:26:30.056 --> 00:26:31.920 The unmistakable presence of God himself. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.868 The unmistakable presence of God himself. 00:26:34.868 --> 00:26:52.519 The mission of the story of God that is being unveiled, or that is actually right now being played out in real time for us right now, is that God is making a way for us to dwell together with him again. 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:54.981 God is making a way for us to dwell together with him again. 00:26:54.981 --> 00:26:58.665 God is making a way for us to dwell together with him. 00:26:59.045 --> 00:26:59.706 What are you talking about? 00:26:59.706 --> 00:27:00.586 Let's go back to the garden. 00:27:00.586 --> 00:27:01.907 I already mentioned it. 00:27:01.907 --> 00:27:04.214 Once we go back to the garden, god created all things. 00:27:04.214 --> 00:27:12.277 He planted these people, who, these creatures that he made in his image, in this garden to tend it, to care for it, humans. 00:27:12.277 --> 00:27:16.413 He planted them there to do that, and they sinned against him. 00:27:16.413 --> 00:27:18.639 What happens? 00:27:18.639 --> 00:27:21.716 They get cast out, but God does give them a promise. 00:27:21.716 --> 00:27:26.977 I'm going to take care of you, I'm going to fix this, but for now you need to be out of here. 00:27:26.977 --> 00:27:27.599 And what does he do? 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:37.585 He sends an angel with a flaming sword Stay away, stay away, stay back, don't come close. 00:27:37.585 --> 00:27:43.062 And they're sent out to battle a world that's cursed. 00:27:45.711 --> 00:27:47.298 And we read it today. 00:27:47.298 --> 00:27:50.738 Man, like we always do, we try to come up with a quick fix. 00:27:50.738 --> 00:27:51.620 We're going to fix this. 00:27:51.620 --> 00:27:52.021 What do we do? 00:27:52.021 --> 00:27:57.802 Let's all gather together and let's build a big tower and we're going to start doing. 00:27:57.802 --> 00:27:59.574 We're going to start doing things our way. 00:27:59.574 --> 00:28:08.529 We're going to, like, rally around the community, the human community, after God had already told them spread out and multiply, have dominion over all the earth and multiply. 00:28:08.529 --> 00:28:09.632 No, we're going to come together. 00:28:09.632 --> 00:28:10.874 We're going to build things. 00:28:10.874 --> 00:28:11.795 We're going to do it our way. 00:28:11.795 --> 00:28:15.000 So they start building the answer to the problem. 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:25.450 They built a temple to answer the problem and God says nah, nah, you guys are not going to be able to work together because you can't understand each other. 00:28:25.450 --> 00:28:28.317 And he changed their language so they can't even understand him. 00:28:28.317 --> 00:28:29.562 So they have to spread out. 00:28:29.562 --> 00:28:34.860 Like, I'm not going to sit there and live next to the guy I can't even talk to, so I'm going to go find the guys that can understand me. 00:28:34.860 --> 00:28:38.353 We're going to start a city, we're going to start a tribe. 00:28:38.353 --> 00:28:39.836 So they spread out. 00:28:41.399 --> 00:28:44.350 But then you go hundreds of years later and what happens? 00:28:44.350 --> 00:28:52.661 There's a shepherd walking through the wilderness Mount Sinai, in fact and he sees a flaming bush that's not burning. 00:28:52.661 --> 00:28:54.844 And what is in that bush? 00:28:54.844 --> 00:28:56.346 God himself. 00:28:56.346 --> 00:28:59.256 And what does he say? 00:28:59.256 --> 00:29:07.180 I've heard you, I have not forgotten my promises, I'm here for you and we're going to begin this now. 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:11.325 And he sends them to Egypt to free his people. 00:29:11.325 --> 00:29:12.390 And what happens? 00:29:12.390 --> 00:29:16.132 He frees them through signs and wonders, he brings them out. 00:29:16.132 --> 00:29:24.537 And then he tells them and instructs them to begin to build a tabernacle, a place where he can come and dwell with his people, in the midst of his people. 00:29:24.537 --> 00:29:27.551 He's fighting to be back with his people. 00:29:27.551 --> 00:29:29.413 And what happens? 00:29:29.413 --> 00:29:30.717 They build the tabernacle. 00:29:30.717 --> 00:29:33.182 And the tabernacle is constructed. 00:29:33.182 --> 00:29:35.312 And when they go to dedicate it, what happens? 00:29:35.312 --> 00:29:40.223 God comes down and sets his presence over the top. 00:29:40.223 --> 00:29:41.111 And what does it look like? 00:29:41.111 --> 00:29:45.942 Well, at daytime it was a cloud, but at nighttime it was a fire. 00:29:45.942 --> 00:29:52.762 And he sets his presence over the top of it and he says I will, I am making a way, I'm coming to be with you. 00:29:52.762 --> 00:30:00.690 And then, when they finally reached the land where they're supposed to go, they build a temple, a more permanent place for God to come. 00:30:00.690 --> 00:30:01.392 And what happens? 00:30:01.392 --> 00:30:05.359 Solomon prays and he blesses the temple. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:06.822 What does it say? 00:30:06.922 --> 00:30:14.440 In 2 Chronicles, it says that a fire came down and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:18.165 He came down to fill the temple, to remind his people. 00:30:18.165 --> 00:30:23.841 I am here with you and you are here with me and I am working to bring this back together. 00:30:23.841 --> 00:30:31.397 And man just keeps messing things up, keeps turning away. 00:30:31.397 --> 00:30:35.136 And then, finally, god sends another. 00:30:35.156 --> 00:30:36.921 It's a little bit different. 00:30:36.921 --> 00:30:37.823 What does he send? 00:30:37.823 --> 00:30:39.875 He sends his only son. 00:30:39.875 --> 00:30:45.519 He sends him to come down, but he's going to fix the problem. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.615 Why can't God dwell with us permanently and be with us for always? 00:30:48.615 --> 00:30:50.695 I got to fix that. 00:30:50.695 --> 00:30:55.122 So he sends his son to live and die, rise again. 00:30:55.122 --> 00:31:08.076 And all along, jesus is saying there's another one of me coming and it's going to empower all of you and you're just going to be able to go and do all the things that I've been doing. 00:31:08.076 --> 00:31:10.382 And what happens? 00:31:10.382 --> 00:31:13.730 He comes there and he promises them and then he goes. 00:31:13.730 --> 00:31:18.778 But if the only way that the other one's coming is if I go away, so he goes and sends them to heaven. 00:31:19.080 --> 00:31:19.961 And then what happens? 00:31:19.961 --> 00:31:27.800 Well, the cool thing is is that, up till this point, the only people that could go into the temple near the presence of God were the priests, and they had to go through a ritual. 00:31:27.800 --> 00:31:29.432 But guess what happened when Jesus died? 00:31:29.432 --> 00:31:35.288 The curtain that divided God's presence from everyone else was ripped into. 00:31:35.288 --> 00:31:46.892 It's like that scene in Jurassic Park, right where the T-Rex is behind the big chain right, and all of a sudden they're like walking through and they realize there's this big gaping hole in the side of the fence and they're like what happened? 00:31:46.892 --> 00:31:50.081 Like that electricity is supposed to keep that T-Rex in there. 00:31:50.081 --> 00:31:52.435 Well, they're like oh, the electricity is off. 00:31:52.435 --> 00:31:54.040 Oh, my goodness, he's out. 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:58.721 Well, the presence of God was no longer going to be contained behind that curtain. 00:31:58.721 --> 00:32:00.052 Why? 00:32:00.052 --> 00:32:02.180 Because God had a plan that it's no longer. 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:05.391 I'm no longer going to dwell in a temple built with hands. 00:32:05.391 --> 00:32:07.994 I am going to dwell inside of my people. 00:32:07.994 --> 00:32:12.058 And we are in that moment. 00:32:12.058 --> 00:32:12.619 What happens? 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:22.500 God comes down and flames of tongues of fire land not on a building, not on a tent, not in a bush, but in people. 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:31.584 And now the spirit of God can spread across the globe. 00:32:31.584 --> 00:32:38.512 So why does it not quite matter so much that our story is so? 00:32:38.512 --> 00:32:45.471 I am going to desperately miss the McConnells, I'm going to miss the Bixbys when they transition on. 00:32:47.554 --> 00:32:55.285 Right now it's hard to see the beginning, the birth of an exciting story, when it feels like there's the end of stories. 00:32:55.285 --> 00:33:16.966 But the reality is is that God, the bigger picture, tells us that God, being in us, is doing his work to spread his people and to accomplish his mission to create a temple across the whole earth where he can reside within his people. 00:33:16.966 --> 00:33:31.459 And so, as much as I hate to see when people come and go, when things change and transitions happen, I can be reminded that God is doing his thing, his work, and he's accomplishing his mission. 00:33:31.459 --> 00:33:34.598 And we have got to keep our heads there. 00:33:34.598 --> 00:33:41.182 We've got to keep our hearts there, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't feel hurt or pain or loss or sadness. 00:33:41.182 --> 00:33:42.213 I'm not saying that at all. 00:33:42.213 --> 00:33:58.257 I'm just saying that the way that we cope with it is by being reminded that it is not our story that matters, it's not my story that matters, it's not my family's story that matters, it's not this church's, redeemer Church's stories that matter. 00:33:58.257 --> 00:34:09.431 The big story that matters is the story that God has been delivering to us in real time from the beginning and will last all the way to the end. 00:34:09.431 --> 00:34:18.932 That is the story where we connect, that is what gives us hope, and so we need to be reminded of that today. 00:34:18.932 --> 00:34:19.795 I need to move quickly. 00:34:19.795 --> 00:34:21.179 That was my biggest point. 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:22.282 So I have two more. 00:34:22.929 --> 00:34:30.243 The next thing, second point, is this that the church confesses a Trinitarian gospel centricity. 00:34:30.243 --> 00:34:35.581 The church confesses a Trinitarian gospel centricity. 00:34:35.581 --> 00:34:36.835 Now, where do we see that? 00:34:36.835 --> 00:34:39.896 Look at Acts 2, 22 through 24. 00:34:39.896 --> 00:34:42.061 Peter's preaching here. 00:34:42.061 --> 00:34:42.522 What does he say? 00:34:42.710 --> 00:34:44.336 Men of Israel, hear these words. 00:34:44.336 --> 00:34:53.360 Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works, wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourself know. 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:56.356 This Jesus delivered up according to what? 00:34:56.356 --> 00:34:59.045 The definite plan of God, the foreknowledge of God. 00:34:59.045 --> 00:35:03.237 You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 00:35:03.237 --> 00:35:10.074 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 00:35:10.074 --> 00:35:11.336 Look at verse 32. 00:35:11.336 --> 00:35:16.443 This Jesus God raised up, and of him we are all witnesses. 00:35:16.443 --> 00:35:24.711 Verse 33, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. 00:35:24.711 --> 00:35:29.221 He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 00:35:29.221 --> 00:35:29.982 Verse 36,. 00:35:29.982 --> 00:35:39.344 Let all the house of Israel know, therefore, for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus who you crucified. 00:35:39.344 --> 00:35:45.112 And then verse 38, repent be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:35:45.492 --> 00:35:47.274 What does Peter do. 00:35:47.274 --> 00:35:51.620 What is at the heart of his message? 00:35:51.620 --> 00:36:00.661 It is the gospel, and it's not just a gospel, a light and easy believism sort of gospel. 00:36:00.661 --> 00:36:07.659 It is everything that is necessary for us to believe and understand in order for us to receive Christ. 00:36:07.659 --> 00:36:23.043 But the people who are actively at work are the father who designed it from the very beginning, who gave his son for the purpose of redeeming man to himself. 00:36:23.043 --> 00:36:32.210 It was the son who came down and showed all the mighty signs and wonders, who was crucified, who died, who was raised up again and who is now ascending. 00:36:32.210 --> 00:36:36.496 It was the spirit who was in it all and is now present in the church. 00:36:36.496 --> 00:36:42.813 The gospel, the Trinitarian gospel of our church, is where we go. 00:36:43.234 --> 00:36:44.759 I call this gospel centricity. 00:36:44.759 --> 00:36:50.725 Pastor Royce mentioned a couple weeks ago this idea of like how gospel centered was really great when it came out. 00:36:50.725 --> 00:36:54.590 Now it's kind of maybe lost its like charm because everyone's gospel centered. 00:36:54.590 --> 00:36:56.937 Now it's like what does that even look like anymore? 00:36:56.937 --> 00:37:00.335 I started trying to think of again being creative, you can forgive me. 00:37:00.335 --> 00:37:04.711 I was like gospel centricity speaks more of a holistic, but I came up with another word. 00:37:04.711 --> 00:37:09.781 It's a little weird, but gospel centripetalicity. 00:37:12.411 --> 00:37:13.053 What does that mean? 00:37:13.053 --> 00:37:14.277 Gospel centripet. 00:37:14.277 --> 00:37:15.475 We're gospel centripet. 00:37:15.475 --> 00:37:16.915 That's not going to sell. 00:37:16.915 --> 00:37:19.591 I'm not going to write a book. 00:37:19.591 --> 00:37:24.579 Yeah, it's a good word. 00:37:24.579 --> 00:37:25.280 It's a good word. 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:26.321 What does it mean? 00:37:26.321 --> 00:37:30.949 It means this what keeps the planets in orbit? 00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:37.858 What keeps the planets in orbit? 00:37:37.858 --> 00:37:40.902 What keeps the moon orbiting around the earth? 00:37:40.902 --> 00:37:42.605 What does that? 00:37:42.605 --> 00:38:01.219 There is a power at the center of our solar system that is pulling on these massive beings and once they come into the atmosphere of the sun, they get caught into orbit and they're locked in till the end of time. 00:38:01.219 --> 00:38:03.164 They are stuck there. 00:38:04.007 --> 00:38:10.993 I think one of the struggles I had with the idea of people saying we're gospel centered is that gospel centeredness is not something that we can assign to ourselves. 00:38:10.993 --> 00:38:20.184 If we truly believe in gospel centeredness, it's something that happens to us and we cannot help but always go back to the gospel. 00:38:20.184 --> 00:38:35.483 It's something that, when we are locked in by the gravitational pull of Jesus Christ himself, we can't get away from it, and our attention, everything we do, is influence the power of that gravitational pull. 00:38:35.483 --> 00:38:55.101 It's influenced by the center, which is Jesus Christ, and so I would like to believe that we are gospel centric, not because we've assigned it to ourselves and that we have named ourselves, I would like to say that we are gospel-centric because we can't help it. 00:38:55.101 --> 00:39:03.163 The power of the gospel, the power of Jesus himself, is joyness to himself. 00:39:04.550 --> 00:39:08.382 If we want to explain how it is that we do what we do, why do we do what we do? 00:39:08.382 --> 00:39:24.179 We have to blame the gravitational pull, we have to rely on the gravitational pull, and I believe it is that for us, those of you who've experienced the power of God in your life, the Spirit's work in your life, you realize that you can't get away from it. 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:35.170 You cannot get away from God's steadfast love, you cannot get away from his mercy, you cannot get away from his compassions, because they are new every morning. 00:39:35.170 --> 00:39:36.152 They do not fail. 00:39:36.152 --> 00:39:40.484 This is why we preach a gospel. 00:39:40.484 --> 00:39:42.929 This is why the gospel influences all that we do. 00:39:42.929 --> 00:39:46.571 This is why the gospel is at the heart of what we believe. 00:39:46.571 --> 00:40:03.183 And so Redeemer Church is a a gospel-centric church because God has willed it. 00:40:03.183 --> 00:40:17.848