Jesus
Hard to Believe
Going,
Going…
Acts
1:8
March
9, 2008 -
It is often our privilege here on Sunday
morning to introduce you to someone who is getting ready to take the Gospel to
a tribe of people who do not know Christ. These folks are going to a tribe with
several difficult and ever changing languages, a diverse cultural, ethnic, and
socio-economic demographic, ornate tribal dress and rites of passage, numerous
and powerful idols they worship , intricate social and leadership structures to
navigate. As they share the message of Jesus, they will be largely
misunderstood by the tribe, most likely shunned, and will be the targets of
intense spiritual attack.
Right now you are probably saying, wow, what
brave people these are… let’s pray for them, equip them, support
them, put their picture up on the wall, send them Christmas in June… So
let’s stand and meet these brave folks… turn to the person next to
you and shake hands with the person I was just describing. Is that “Hard
to Believe”??
Well, as you are being seated, turn in your
Bibles to Acts 1.
Introduction
What was the condition of
the disciples just previous to the Lords saying these things to them? Let's
paint a picture....
·
Jesus dies and disciples scatter. Matt.
26:56
·
During the 40 days after the resurrection
Jesus appears "by many convincing proofs..." (Acts 1:3) to at least
500 people. The resurrected Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, over 500
people , James, all the apostles and finally to Paul. (1 Cor. 15:6). Jesus rises
from the dead and finds His disciples --->
> doubtful - Matt 28:17
> unbelieving and with
hard hearts - Mark
> afraid - Matt. 28:10
> cowering inside doors
shut for fear of the Jews - John 20:19
> even after Jesus appears
to them he finds them going back to fishing on the sea of Galilee - John 21
NOW Jesus gathers them
together for final instructions before ascending to heaven. He gives them his
goodbyes then he tells them to go to
This does not sound like a
great plan to me! Clueless, cowardly, leaderless, the disciples had certainly
seen everything the Lord had done but they were still missing something.
What he says next is truly
“Hard to believe”…
Acts 1:8 – “…but you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in
Acts 1:8 along with Matt
28:19,20 form the backbone of the mission statement for
The mission statement of
Some of you have heard Acts 1:8 and the word
“mission” and have already put the rest of this morning into a
slot… It’s another “missions” Sunday. You are
wrong… and you are right…
This morning I want to introduce you to a
new word… it’s the word “missional”. “missional”
is a word that neither you nor your spell checker may recognize. In very
simplistic terms, it’s a word that takes the “mission” of a
“mission statement” – purpose or reason for being, and
combines it with the word “missionary” – or “sent
one”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "missional" as
"Relating to or connected with a religious mission; missionary."
This differs from a being a
church with a great missions program or even a “missions minded”
church. It is the idea that the Great Commission is an assignment for every person in the church and it is to every person in the world.
The Great Commission is not
restricted to one region of the world. There are lost people everywhere.
The question I want to ask
this morning is “To what extent is our church a ‘sent’
community in which each believer is reaching out to the world locally,
regionally, and globally?” Why should we do THAT?
(Four promises Jesus give to His church
about being his witnesses.)
1. IT IS A POWERFUL
WITNESS
Go back up to verse 4,
"...He commanded them not to leave
Indeed the disciples left a
lot to be desired. It is their last minutes with the risen Christ and they are
worried about Jesus restoring
Here Jesus is looking just
10 days ahead to the incredible miracle of Acts 2 where, in fulfillment of OT
prophecy and the promises of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to actually INDWELL
his people. (Read Acts 2:2-4, 16,17,18)
John tells us that Jesus
had promised them that the Holy Spirit would teach them the things they needed
to know, he would allow them to remember all that Jesus had told them, and that
the Spirit, when he came, would "...convict the world of guilt in regard
to sin and righteousness and judgment." (Jn 14:16,26; 16:8)
•Acts 19:20 - "In this way the word of the Lord spread
widely and grew in [power]."
•Paul would later say
in Eph 1:18-20
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order
that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly realms... NIV
• Examples: Power
over personal sin, witnessing to people with confidence, giving you the right
words, spiritual gifts to glorify Christ in the Church...
• Jesus did not say
"...and you shall attempt to
be my witnesses" or "Give it the ol' college try to be, or take a good run at it, and
just do what you can, good luck!..." He didn't say "you shall work really hard to be my witnesses"
No, he said, "you shall be!" How could Jesus be so sure of
this rag-tag group of cowards?
It may seem amazing, but
Jesus expected Great things from his disciples. Could any of them but Jesus
imagined millions of people in China who name the name of Christ, or the
thousand coming to salvation in Jesus across the continent of Africa?
John Stott writes, "The exercise of power is inherent in
the concept of a kingdom. But power in God's kingdom is different from power in
human kingdoms. The reference to the Holy Spirit defines its nature. The
Supernatural POWER is
central to a missional church. Ed Stetzer and David Putnam “Breaking the
Missional Code” (Broadman & Holman, 2006) describe it this
way:
Summary: Holy Spirit Power vs. Human plans
2. IT IS A
PERSONAL WITNESS
Acts 1:8 – “…but you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses both in
• The word
"witness" one who has testified, or can testify to the truth of what
he has seen, heard, or known.
The Greek word that we get
our English word "witness" from is actually MARTYR - Through church
history faithful Christians bore witness to Christ no matter what the cost,
even death, and the meaning slowly changed to how we use it today.
Dictionary definition: “somebody who chooses to die rather than deny a strongly held
belief, especially a religious belief” - “…and
you shall be My MARTYR’S…”
Q: How many of you have seen
a car accident? Now how many have actually been in an accident or been the
victim of a crime? EX: Getting rear-ended in
• If it took an
EYE-witness of the resurrected Christ to do this, none of us would qualify.
• But, if you are
here today and you are a Christian then you can say Christ has chosen you, He
has revealed Himself to you, He has commissioned you as His witness, and He has
given you the Holy Spirit.
• Paul did not
eye-witness all the events, but Ananias prophesied he would be "a witness to [Christ] for all men..." (Acts 22:15)
• Jesus said "blessed are those who did not see, yet
believed..." (Jn 20:29)
• Peter said, "Though you have not seen him, you love him;
and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with
an inexpressible and glorious joy, -- 1 Pet 1:8 (NIV)
Jesus is not using the word
"witnesses" for an eye-witness of the facts, but specifically for
those who will testify of the risen Christ, the Good News of Jesus as Savior
and Lord. Its a difference of personal experience. That's the difference between
"a witness of these things" and "My witnesses".
Q: These faithful martyrs
expected God to work. Do we really expect Him to work today? Jesus does! It may
be a small thing, or it may be a large thing. Trusting that God will open a
door for friendship with a lost neighbor, or to break the hold of an addictive
habit, or that God would speak to you from His word as you are on your knees
before him in the morning.
"As the Father sent me," he declared, "I also send
you." (John 20:21)
17:11 …even as Jesus
and the Father are one
17:21 …even as You,
Father, are in Me and I in You…
17:22 … just as we
are one
John 17:5 –
preincarnate existence with God. Jesus was with the Father and now he is
getting ready to return to the glory they shared together before the
incarnation.
John 1:1; Heb. 1:3; John
10:30; John 14:10
John 17:18 - "As you have sent Me into the world, I have sent
them into the world."
John 17:21 - that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in
Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
§
Jesus is about to leave this world, but his
disciples are to stay! His work is done and theirs is just starting!
§
Just as Jesus went with authority, so did
the disciples. AND SO DO WE!
§
Just as Jesus went with a message of love
and forgiveness, so did the disciples
AND SO DO WE!
§
Just as Jesus went into danger and peril of
death, so did the disciples! AND SO
DO WE!
§
We are called to remain in a hostile and
tempting world. He has left us here for a purpose!
§
Jesus did not ask them to be removed from a
dangerous environment.
§
Jesus has already promised them the Holy
Spirit. He knows it will be a great trial for them.
It is the nature of God to express love. In eternity past God experienced the perfect fellowship of the
Trinity, lacking nothing. And yet God longed to express his love, so he created the world. The world was
separated from God by sin and God SENT his Son to redeem us. The Father and the
Son SENT the Spirit.
APPLICATION:
Every believer is gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit for the
purpose, the mission, the identity, the vocation, of being sent by Jesus to
reach the world. It will look very different for different people, will show up
in many different ways, but it’s the goal that we are all working toward.
If what we are doing does NOT advance the Great Commission, then we should NOT
do it!
A missional church is one where
people are exploring and rediscovering what it means to be Jesus' sent people
as their identity and vocation.
EX:
3. IT IS
AN IMPERATIVE WITNESS
• Imperative means a
command. This is not a piece of advice, an option, or a helpful tip. Jesus was
not making a suggestion, a wish, or dropping hints.
• But I want to focus
on the little word "be",
"shall be" Its such a small word , "be".
• Notice, it is not
"do" -
Jesus did not say
"and you shall do My witnessing"
nor did he say
"and you shall witness"
Its not "go witness" Have you ever said
"I'm going witnessing!"
Most of us have felt
guilty about not going witnessing.
In Matt 28: 19 - Jesus said , "As you are going, make
disciples..." Going is assumed!
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19,20
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good
news to all creation. Mark 16:15 (NIV)
• It is not an issue
of doing --> it is being
It is not an issue of
activity --> it is identity
It is not an issue of
how you act --> but who you are.
• When Jesus said
"You shall be my witnesses" he didn't also say, "and if you guys
blow it, I'll go to plan B." The Church is IT! No back up plan!
•If you ask the
average church member today what is the primary purpose of the church, you
would most likely get a wide diversity of answers –
many
might say fellowship is primary
many might say Biblical
teaching is primary
many might say
Worshipping God is primary
some might add other
things to the list
Q: Why are we here? Why do
we do what we do here at
The reason we exist is to “To make disciples who know God, are growing to be like
Christ, and working to make Him known in
• If God's primary
purpose for the church were fellowship,
wouldn't he take us to heaven so we could all have perfect fellowship,
unhindered by selfishness, disharmony,
• If God's primary
purpose for the church were to know the
Bible, he'd take us to heaven where we will all know and be
known perfectly.
• If God's primary
purpose for the church were praise and
worship, again, he'd take us to heaven where praise is perfect
and unending.
•All of these other
things are important but they are not primary. What was happening in Acts 2:47
when all of these things were happening? "The Lord was adding to their
number day by day those who were being saved."
It’s NOT just for
“The few, the proud, the Missionaries…”
Heart for missions must
flow out of a heart for lost people everywhere. It is not right to not care
about your neighbor and then pray for the missionaries off in
Q: What part of the plan is
God asking you to take? Are you being faithful where God has planted you? Are
you being a witness in your job? In your school? In your family? In your home?
Is your speech a witness to the saving power of Christ? How about your calendar?
Does your checkbook reflect the fact that you are a Christ's testimony both
here and around the world?
4. IT IS
AN EXTERNAL WITNESS
Acts 1:8 – “…but you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in
·
·
·
·
The ends of the earth - people different
from you living in a different place.
This is what it
means to be “missional”. It is the idea that the Great Commission
is an assignment for every person in the church and it is to every person in the world.
This differs from a
being a church with a great missions program or even a “missions
minded” church. Instead, we ask ourselves, “To what extent is our
church a ‘sent’ community in which each believer is reaching out to
the world locally, regionally, and globally?”
The Great
Commission is not restricted to one region of the world. There are lost people
everywhere in the world. We need a vision for reaching all of these area. We
will strategically target the “least reached”. At the same time we
will not ignore our regional and local opportunities.
• One author writes
"...the believer who desires to glorify God, who wants to honor God's
supreme will and purpose, must share God's love for the lost world and share in
His mission to redeem the lost to Himself." (MacArthur p.332)
• "The supreme
way in which God chose to glorify Himself was through the redemption of sinful
men, and it is through the participation in that redemptive plan that believer
themselves most glorify God."
• God has left us
here to be about his work. Jesus Christ came to the earth to seek and to save
the lost. "As the Father sent
me," he declared, "I also send you." (John 20:21)
Today we stand before the
"Peoples of the
both in
“Each individual and community needs something to
live for apart from its self and its own work. A global missional vision
enlarges ones view of the world, the church, and of the Gospel.” ~ John
R. Mott 1918
Ps. 96:1-3 - Sing to the Lord a
new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his
marvelous deeds among all peoples."
One man has called it,
"An eminently shareable, doable command, namely to rejoice and be glad in
God."
Conclusion
1. IT IS A POWERFUL
WITNESS - WE can be CONFIDENT – are you asking God to use
you for His purposes?
2. IT IS A PERSONAL
WITNESS - We should be EXPECTANT – know your testimony?
3. IT IS AN IMPERATIVE
WITNESS - We must be OBEDIENT –
4. IT IS AN EXTERNAL
WITNESS - We need to be URGENT – Which ONE of the above
will you do THIS week?
Three Questions:
Are you an Eye-Witness??
Are you an "I Witness"?
Or are you one of "MY witnesses"?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - "The Church is
the church only when it exists for others." He knew what it meant - he was
hanged in a Nazi concenration camp just 3 weeks before the Allied liberation.