Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / The Call to All

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The Call to All · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Imagine this, the God of the universe has a plan.
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He has a game plan for this entire planet and
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the universe. Now get this, that same God has
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a plan for your life. Want to discover what it
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is? Stay with us. Have you ever asked yourself,
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is there a point to all this? To the chaos, the
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headlines, the struggling, the striving? I'm
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Dave Drewy, and today on Living on the Edge,
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Chip Ingram answers with a resounding yes. God
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has a sweeping, unstoppable agenda for this planet,
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and it includes you. Today, Chip launches a series
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called The Jesus Revolution. Join the movement.
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And later in the program, you'll get to hear
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about a very special opportunity that's just
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begun here this month with our mid -year match.
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Well, more on that after the message. But now
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here's Chip with a lesson titled The Call to
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All. I want you to think for just a moment that
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the one who created all that there is has an
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agenda for this planet. The creator, the one
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who spoke and the cosmos came into existence,
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the alpha and the omega, the one who's all -knowing,
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all -powerful, he has an agenda for all things
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and he has an agenda for all people. To understand
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that agenda on our part, we have to go back to
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literally the dawn of creation. Beyond the great
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cosmos to this one privileged planet. And scientists
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know what I'm talking about. The unique situation
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in which the earth orbits and where it's at in
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this galaxy. And then on this one small planet,
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the pinnacle of God's creation, mankind. ignited
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the greatest love story ever. In fact, as you
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open the Bible, you find that in Genesis chapters
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1 and 2, and then later at the very end, chapters
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21 and 22 of Revelation, we have the picture
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of God's great love story. So often, so much
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of life and so much of what it means to follow
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God or hearing about Christ has fallen into religious
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ears instead of, it's a love story. God lived
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in perfect harmony. in relationship with the
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Godhead, self -existent, transcendent, in need
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of nothing and in need of no one, but chose to
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create free moral beings in his image, place
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them in a perfect environment. And in Genesis
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1 and 2, we get the picture of knowing and being
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known. The God, the creator with the pinnacle
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of his creation, Adam and Eve. loving and being
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loved. And in the course of the time, the greatest
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divorce that has ever occurred in all of the
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universe occurred. In a moment of weakness and
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temptation, our first parents decided that they
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wanted to be like God. That they wanted to do
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their own thing. And so something happened. Literally
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it says that there was a fall. Sin entered the
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world. And the actual creation even groans to
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this day. And the explanation for hurricanes
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and earthquakes. And things that the world was
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never supposed to happen. Happened when sin entered
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the world. God in his great, great mercy. Killed
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an animal and clothed our first parents and covered
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their shame and their nakedness. And then he
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set them outside of this perfect environment
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because the tree of life was in it. And if they
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would eat of it, they would stay in this fallen
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state forever and ever and ever. And what you
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need to understand is there's a perfect environment
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in chapters one and two of Genesis. And there
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is a day that will come when the creator of all
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of life, with whosoever would trust and believe
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in the gift of Christ, will live in a perfect
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environment called the kingdom of God, a new
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heaven and a new earth. But all of scripture
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from chapter 3 verse 21 all the way through to
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chapter 20 of Revelation is the great tsunami
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of God's grace. It's the movement of God. You
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know, we've seen the pictures like you see. If
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you're in one of those buildings and that tsunami
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wall is coming, it's unstoppable. Unstoppable
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destruction. We've seen it happen recently. What
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I want you to get in your mind is that from the
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very first moment when God clothed our parents,
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he began this unstoppable wave of grace. this
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grace that wanted to redeem, this grace that
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wanted to reconcile, this grace that wanted to
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forgive and atone for. And so you'll actually
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see on your notes, I put a little chart where
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you can see where that Old Testament begins.
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And so he chooses an Abraham. And the Abraham,
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and there's a story. And then there's a law with
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Moses. And in the law, we get all the inklings
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about sacrifices and redemption. And then the
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Ten Commandments come. And then there's this
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nation of Israel. And the goal of this nation
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would be this pinnacle and draw all the world
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as they would see the greatness of our God until
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we get to the cross. And all the prophets and
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all the time with the story of Israel because
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God promised. He promised from the very first
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time in Genesis 3 through multiple prophets and
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multiple times that one day a Messiah, a Savior,
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a Deliverer would come. And that the tsunami
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of grace would be clear and vivid and that God
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would live among us and he would love us and
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his life would demonstrate the Father's heart
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full of truth and grace and then his death would
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actually pay for once and for all the sins of
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all people of all time. And that tsunami grace
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was offered to the nation of Israel and they
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rejected their own Messiah. And Jesus died and
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then he rose three days later and having paid
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for the all sin of all men of all time and conquering
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death and conquering Satan, he starts a new wave
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of grace called the church, a supernatural community
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where The living Christ who walked on the earth
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in his physical body would now, God the Holy
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Spirit would come and live inside his followers
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who trust him. And that tsunami wall of grace
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would rise higher and higher and forcefully move.
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And Jesus would say, the gates of hell could
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not and will not prevail against his church.
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And we're his church. The founder of the church
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is Jesus and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are
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the story of our founder, Jesus. And the book
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of Acts is a story of his followers, of what
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happened after he left and empowered them and
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this tsunami wave of grace moving forward. And
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if you open your Bibles to Acts chapter one,
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we're gonna go on a journey together. And in
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this journey together, we're gonna watch and
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discover what did God do? How does this grace
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push forward? How does it move with just unstoppable
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force century after century after century? Because
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if you do not understand what God was doing in
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that early church, you'll never understand his
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agenda for your life. If you can't get that the
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eternal God of the universe has a plan, and it's
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not just a plan for the planet, it's a plan for
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every person on the planet of which you are one.
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And those of you who call Christ your Lord and
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you're following him, you've got to understand
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this was the game plan for the first century
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church because it informs his game plan for the
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21st century church. The first century church,
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what was God's agenda then? And what you're going
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to learn in the first five verses is that his
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followers are given the task to finish what he
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began to do and to teach. The end of Luke, the
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author is Luke. He's a doctor. He's a researcher.
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Luke and Acts are almost like a documentary.
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And he does all the research and he's writing,
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many people believe, to a person of great influence,
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Theopolis. And at the very end of Luke, chapter
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24, Jesus opens the mind of his disciples to
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understand the scriptures. And then he gives
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them this assignment. He says, this message of
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the kingdom of God of repentance will be preached
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through every nation in the earth. And I will
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empower you and you'll be my messengers. You'll
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be the unstoppable tsunami force of my grace
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and love to go to all the earth and let them
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know there's hope. There's deliverance in me.
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And then in Acts, he continues his documentary.
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And we pick it up and he says in my former account
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Theophilus I wrote of all that Jesus began to
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do and to teach until the day he was taken up
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to heaven. And after giving instructions through
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the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen
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after his suffering speaking of the cross he
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showed himself to these men and gave many convincing
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That word literally in Greek is a sure sign.
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This is the idea of supernatural, miraculous
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things that they experienced. It was Thomas touching
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the holes in his hand. It was him walking through
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a wall. It was multiple things so they knew over
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40 days. The New Testament has 10 specific occurrences
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that in a resurrected body, he comes to his disciples
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and lets them know, this is real. I really rose
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from the dead. It wasn't one person here or one
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person there. And then he did some teaching.
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He says that convincing proofs that he was alive
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and then he appeared to them for over 40 days
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and spoke about the kingdom of God. And all that
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means is the rule of God. This is how life works
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when God is in control. I'm going to send you
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to finish what I began. And he's giving them
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instruction. He's opening their mind to the Old
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Testament and giving them a picture of what's
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going to happen and what their role is in it.
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On one occasion, while he was eating with them,
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he gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem,
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but wait for the gift my father promised, which
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you have heard me speak about. For John baptized
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you with water, but in a few days you will be
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baptized with the Holy Spirit. And in your Bible,
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you might circle that phrase, Holy Spirit. In
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the book of Acts, it occurs 70 different times.
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The second person of the Godhead is going to
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take up personal residence inside the human bodies
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of his followers and they are going to live the
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way Jesus lived when he walked on the earth.
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They will feel and care for those the way Jesus
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cared and feel for those when he walked on the
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earth. They're going to finish what Jesus began.
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Now, if you were a Jew at this time and you were
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well -schooled as these men were, and he talked
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about the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God,
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your mind would drift back to Ezekiel chapter
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36. The Holy Spirit was not a new concept for
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Old Testament saints. And you would think, because
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Ezekiel talks about the coming of the Spirit
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and the restoration of the kingdom, and God promises
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in Ezekiel 36, there's coming a day when the
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kingdom's gonna be restored, Israel's gonna be
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restored, there's gonna be peace, the crops are
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gonna be great. Israel, as you knew it in the
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old days, is gonna happen, and it's gonna be
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wonderful. And they thought, maybe this is the
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time. So look at verse six. Notice the question
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the apostles ask. So when they met together,
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they asked him, and the tense of this verb literally
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is they were continually asking him until they
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got an answer. Lord, are you at this time going
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to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to
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them, it's not for you to know the times or the
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dates the father has set by his own authority,
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but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
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comes on you. and you will be my witnesses. And
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then he tells him sort of the game plan. It's
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the outline of the book. You'll be my witnesses.
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Literally the word, we get our word martyr. You'll
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be my martyr. You'll be my eyewitnesses. You're
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the ones that have seen. You're the ones that
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have heard. You're gonna experience my power.
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And you're gonna be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
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the city, Judea, the area, Samaria, the area
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beyond that, and to the uttermost parts of the
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earth. And so what you see is God's agenda first
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and foremost is he says to his followers, you
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finish what I began. And then second, he says
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their focus was to fulfill the global agenda,
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not their national political interests. See,
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when they heard about the Holy Spirit, they're
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a lot like us. They thought, oh great, you're
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gonna take down Rome? These cultural wars are
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gonna be over? The religious wars are gonna be
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over? I mean, this was a wicked time of life.
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I mean, this was a polluted time filled with
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corruption and filled with all kind of idolatry.
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And so they're thinking, great, Jesus has come.
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He's the king. He's risen from the dead. He's
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the man. We're going to sit on the thrones. Let's
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go for it. And he goes, no. You see, there's
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this parentheses. Everything that God promised
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to Abraham and David will be fulfilled. But this
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parentheses, this is the time of the church.
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The supernatural agency of blessing of God's
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purposes on the earth will be the church and
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it's a new thing. Paul describes it and explains
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it in chapters one, two, and three of the book
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of Ephesians. And he says, guys, stop thinking
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about your political interest and your national
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interest and what you want done for you and your
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protection and your comfort. He says, there's
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a global agenda. You're to be my witnesses where
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you are, next to where you are, extended from
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where you are, and to the uttermost parts of
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the earth. Well, as he does that, then he gives
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them some assurance, because I don't know about
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you, but if you got that word from Jesus at that
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point in time with your worldview, A, it'd be
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a little disappointing, and two, it'd be impossible.
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Like, are you kidding me? I mean, Peter's pretty
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forthright. I can see him. Hey, John, there's
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120 of us. Is he joking? I mean, he may come
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through the wall and give us some assurance or
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something again, but I mean, 120 of us, we're
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gonna go to the ends of the earth. So the third
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part of his agenda, he makes very clear. He says
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their assurance of success was the indwelling
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Holy Spirit and the certainty of Jesus' return.
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What he wants them to know in this very first
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launch of the church and the tsunami wave of
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grace is you can't do it. And so we pick up the
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story in verse nine. After he said this, he was
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taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid them
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from their sight and they were looking intently
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up into the sky as he was going when suddenly
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two men dressed in white stood beside them. Two
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angels show up. Men of Galilee, they said, why
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do you stand here looking into the sky? This
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same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven
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will come back in the same way you have seen
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him go up into heaven. Now, it's really interesting.
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Scholars, when you study this, talk about three
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different specific words that talk about the
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ascension of Jesus. In those verse 9, verse 10,
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verse 7, separate words. He is taken up. He's
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received into heaven. The picture is, now imagine
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you're listening and it's one of those times
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and Jesus is speaking and he's talking about
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what's going to come and he's giving you this
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assignment. And like mid -sentence, he just starts
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to elevate and elevate. And elevate. And then
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this bright cloud comes around him. And he elevates.
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And the word here for, it's literally like they're
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awestruck. It's a medical term doctors, when
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someone would go like, that's the word used here.
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And in that moment, they're snapped out of it
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by a couple angels who say, hey guys, what surprises
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you about this? This same Jesus who promised
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to return. who's talked to you about the kingdom
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of God, who gave you the outline of the great
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tsunami of grace of redemption and reconciliation,
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just the way he's left, he's gonna come. Visibly,
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physically, bodily. He left at the Mount of Olives,
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he'll be coming back at the Mount of Olives.
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The difference, he came the first time as a savior
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to say whosoever, whosoever would turn from your
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sin and receive the free gift of forgiveness,
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purchased in my blood. I want to love you and
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to save you and to forgive you. When he comes
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back, he'll come back as judge. He'll come back
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on a white horse and upon his thigh, it'll write
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faithful and true. And he will now balance the
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scales and justice and equality and perfection
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as he ushers in a new heaven and a new earth.
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And so what he tells the guys is, you know, verse
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eight, you can't do this. It's the spirit of
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God in you. You're gonna receive power, but it's
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not you. It's gonna be the spirit of God in you.
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And you can endure anything because life is not
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just about now. You have a friend at the right
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hand of the Father who's praying for you now.
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You have an advocate. And you can know for certain
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that whatever you have to go through, he's going
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to come back. He will make things right. And
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earlier he told them there's great reward for
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those that go through a difficult life in a fallen
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world. Finally, they responded in obedience to
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Jesus' words and looked to Scripture for their
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marching orders. And so, remember what he said?
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He said, I want you to go back until you get
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the promise. Remember the promise? You're going
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to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So I want
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you to go back to Jerusalem, and what you're
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going to learn is about, they call it a Sabbath
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day's walk, which is about two -thirds of a mile.
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And then we go back to literally the articles
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there, the upper room, the same upper room. It's
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on the third floor, holds between 120 to 150
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people. And, you know, they're going to just
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obey what he said. Now, can you imagine? They
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were running for their life just a few days ago.
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They've had these amazing emotional experiences.
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I mean, what would you talk to with like your
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best friend or your wife after Jesus showed up,
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came through a wall, ate some fish, talked about
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some things. You felt his hands. You know, you've
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seen two or three amazing miracles and you realize
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this is real. This is God. This is Messiah. Now
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what do we do? And then he goes up into the sky
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and says, I want you to go back to Jerusalem
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and pray and wait. And that's, don't do anything
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until you get the power. Well, we pick up the
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story. Verse 12, then they returned to Jerusalem
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from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath
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day's walk from the city. And when they arrived,
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they went upstairs to the room where they were
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staying. And those present were Peter and John
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and James and Andrew and Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew
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and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon
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the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James. And
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they all joined together constantly in prayer
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along with the women and Mary. the mother of
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Jesus and his brothers. And in your Bibles where
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it says in prayer, literally it's and the prayer.
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Remember when they asked Jesus in Luke 11, teach
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us to pray. And he teaches them the Lord's prayer.
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And at the end, he gives a little illustration.
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And then he says, ask, seek, knock. And then
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at the end of it, he says, and seek the father
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and ask him to give you the Holy Spirit. See,
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they're not praying just general prayers. One
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prayer, the prayer we know they're praying, they're
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praying that prayer that he taught them and they're
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praying, God, you promised the Holy Spirit. We're
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asking you to bring him in our life right now.
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So they meet Jesus. He goes into the air. The
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angels say this. And so guess what? They go and
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they get before God. One scholar that I trust
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a lot says, as best we can figure, From the time
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he ascended until Pentecost next week, when the
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Holy Spirit comes, it's about 10 days. So there
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are 10 days kind of in community. They're praying
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and they're sharing. And, you know, during that
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time of sharing, what you're going to find is,
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you know, they're looking at the Old Testament
20:40
passages and saying, you know, I wonder what
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we should do. What's the next step? And so we
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pick it up. Look at verse 15. In those days,
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Peter stood up among the believers and a group
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numbering about 120. And they said, brothers,
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the scripture had to be fulfilled. which the
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Holy Spirit spoke a long ago through the mouth
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of David concerning Judas, who served as a guide
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for those who arrested Jesus. He was the one
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of our number and shared in this ministry. With
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the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought
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a field. And then he fell headlong, his body
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burst open, and his intestines spilled out. And
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everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they
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called the field in their language, Akeldama,
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for it is the field of blood. Now, before we
21:25
go on, you need to understand. So the story of
21:28
Judas, if you're familiar with the Gospels, he
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betrays Jesus. And afterwards he has this worldly
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sorrow and realize what he's done and he doesn't
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repent. But what he does is he takes the 30 pieces
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of silver and he throws it into the face of the
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high priest. And they're thinking, this is blood
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money, we don't want it. And so they bought this
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field where, you know, people that can't afford
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a grave. And so it had become known. that this
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field is called the field of blood. And so they're
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reciting kind of what's happened in the days
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following all this. Just, I mean, can you imagine
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the uproar and what's occurring? And then Peter
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is in community and he's talking and he's the
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point person at this point. And he quotes Psalm
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69 and he says, it's written in the book of Psalms,
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verse 25, may this place be deserted. Let there
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be no one to dwell in it. And Peter says, you
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know, that Psalm was talking about the issue
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with Judas. And then he quotes Psalm 109, verse
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eight. And it says, and may another take his
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place of leadership. And so all they know is
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we're supposed to stay here and to pray and to
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wait and to tarry. But the Bible is really clear
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that we had 12. Now we got 11. We're supposed
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to discern who's the next one. So we pick up
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the story, verse 21. Therefore, it's necessary
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to choose one of the men who've been with us
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from the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and
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out among us. Beginning from John's baptism to
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the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For
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one of these must come and become a witness with
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us of his resurrection. By the way, do you get
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their mission? Their mission wasn't, let's start
23:07
a religion and be a little bit moral than other
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people. Let's start a religion and be really
23:11
kind and nice. Let's just start a religion and
23:14
see if we can help the world out and make our
23:16
lives more comfortable. They said, no, no, no.
23:18
There's 11 of us and we've been given a global
23:21
assignment. We are to be witnesses. We're to,
23:24
what we hear, what we see, what we experience
23:27
of the resurrection. That there's life after
23:30
death. A savior came, redemption occurred, reconciliation.
23:34
I mean, these people are positive, focused, and
23:37
missional. And then now notice what happens.
23:41
He says, so they proposed two men, Joseph called
23:44
Barsabbas, and also Justice and Matthias. And
23:47
then they prayed, Lord, you know everyone's heart.
23:50
Show which of these two that you have chosen
23:52
to take over this apostolic ministry with Judas
23:55
left to go to the place where he belongs. Then
23:58
they drew lots. and the lot fell to Matthias,
24:02
so he was added to the 11. Now, you might ask,
24:05
you know, why would they draw lots? It's because
24:09
that's the Old Testament way to discern God's
24:11
will when you're not sure. I mean, they knew
24:13
both of these guys were qualified, but from the
24:16
time that Jesus was baptized by John to the time
24:19
that he ascended, they've all been in these groups
24:21
together, and both of these guys are, as far
24:24
as we know, very, very qualified. And then there's
24:27
this very interesting word. It says, but you,
24:30
oh Lord, and there's this very interesting word,
24:32
but you are the God who searches the heart. Only
24:36
you know. Who have you chosen, Lord? You know
24:38
people's motives. You know what's going on down
24:40
deep inside. And so, because the Holy Spirit
24:43
hasn't come. And when he comes, what's the promise?
24:46
Jesus said, John 16, he'll guide you into the
24:48
truth. But right now, as Old Testament saints
24:52
waiting for the Holy Spirit, they cast lots and
24:56
What they did is obey the next thing that God
24:59
showed them. And what he said was, go pray, they
25:02
prayed. And they did it for 10 days together.
25:05
And then they said, oh, the Bible's clear that
25:08
the next thing to do is not go, not talk, it's
25:12
to replace Judas. Now here's what you gotta understand.
25:16
All through the book of Acts, it is both descriptive
25:19
and prescriptive. And so what you do is you look
25:24
through a lens and you say in Acts chapter one,
25:26
we have Jesus giving his agenda for the planet
25:30
to the very first followers of Christ. This is
25:33
exactly what you're to do now. The question then
25:37
is how do you take what are the principles from
25:40
Acts chapter one to what is Jesus' words to us,
25:43
his body, now, the 21st century? And I'd like
25:47
to suggest there's four very clear applications
25:50
to what Jesus wants, this unstoppable tsunami
25:54
wave of grace to build up in and through us and
25:58
to go out from us. Four things. Number one, we
26:03
are to be confident in Jesus' presence and purpose.
26:07
You know, if there's one thing I observe more
26:09
and more about Christians, it's like we have
26:11
a self -image problem. We're always concerned
26:14
about what people think. And, well, I can't do
26:16
that, or I'm inadequate, and, you know, I'm sure
26:19
God uses other people, but not really me. And
26:21
there's sort of this passive, the world's a really
26:23
hard, difficult, that's not how they felt. There's
26:27
a reason that Jesus, for 40 days, taught them
26:31
Bible studies about the kingdom reign of God
26:34
and did miracles. Why? There's 120 of them, and
26:38
they're going to reach the world. By the way,
26:40
2 ,000 years later, they're doing pretty well.
26:42
Why? They had confidence in the person of Christ
26:46
and they had confidence in the purpose of Christ.
26:51
Here's the principle. The principle from the
26:54
very words of Jesus, his kingdom will come and
26:58
his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
27:04
Now, you know, that great movement of God from...
27:08
Genesis chapter 3 that went through the Old Testament
27:11
and there were prophets in the Old Testament
27:13
and then Jesus comes and there's a supernatural
27:15
birth and there's a resurrection and then there's
27:18
movement of the early church. I want you to know
27:20
this tsunami wave of grace, it's going to happen
27:24
and he's going to return and you either jump
27:27
on and ride that wave of grace and be a part
27:29
of God's kingdom agenda or you're a spectator
27:32
and you watch it go by. And the enemy of your
27:37
soul will lure you into thinking that there's
27:39
security in a 401k or if you can get into that
27:42
school or have that girlfriend or that boyfriend
27:44
if your kids turn out like this and seduce you
27:46
into all kind of things that may be good things
27:49
as a byproduct, but they're not the unstoppable
27:52
agenda. And he calls you and he calls me to ride
27:56
the wave, to get on what God is doing because
28:01
it's going to happen. It's a done deal. The score,
28:06
you may not know all the plays, the score is
28:08
final. And God wants you to know his kingdom
28:11
will come. And the key word is faith. His key
28:14
word is, will you believe me? And so we need
28:18
to be confident. We need to ride the wave. You
28:22
need to begin to live in such a way where you
28:24
expect God to do supernatural things. You expect
28:27
him to open the hearts of people you work with.
28:29
You expect him to provide your needs in ways
28:32
you didn't understand. You expect that things
28:34
you think could never change in your marriage
28:36
actually can. And then you begin to step out
28:38
and take steps of faith. And you know what? God
28:41
will honor that. He's pleased to. Without faith,
28:45
it's impossible to please him. But boy, those
28:48
who do, when we take tiny steps, our father's
28:52
heart rejoices and he's there to help. The second,
28:58
Part of God's agenda for 21st century Christians
29:01
is to be clear on your calling. What are we called
29:05
to do? The principle here is that every believer
29:09
is a full -time missionary bearing witness to
29:12
Jesus' supernatural life in them. Acts 1 .8 is
29:16
as true for us today as it was for them. You
29:21
have received power. The Holy Spirit is in you.
29:26
And the issue isn't are you going to, quote,
29:29
witness for him. You are a witness if you're
29:31
part of his family. And all of us, and we have
29:33
good days and bad days, but we're either a dynamic,
29:36
positive witness or a bad witness. There's people
29:39
that meet me or meet you or see me relate to
29:41
other people, and they come to conclusions about
29:43
Jesus, the church, grace, and life when they
29:47
look at me and when they look at you. And, of
29:51
course, my prayer is that the great majority
29:53
of that time it will be positive. But there's
29:56
a whole world out there. They just think Christians
29:59
are nuts. They just think we're narrow, prejudiced,
30:03
bigoted, unkind, uncaring, racist. And you know
30:11
why? Because a lot of people who name the name
30:13
of Christ are like that. And the breakthrough
30:16
will come when legitimate followers of Christ
30:21
like you and me, when Christians live like Christians.
30:26
But you're a missionary. You know, what he had
30:30
to help them understand back then was it's not
30:32
about your political national interest. And that's
30:37
true for us. There's a global agenda. And there's
30:42
lots of good causes. There's this cause, this
30:43
cause. And there's lots of good causes that can
30:45
get us off track. We have spent decades. attacking
30:50
rotten fruit, the rotten fruit of that in our
30:52
society, the rotten fruit of that in our society,
30:54
the rotten fruit of that in society, and the
30:56
rotten fruit of that society. Jesus says, I want
30:58
to go to the root, not the fruit. When people's
31:01
hearts get changed, communities change, and the
31:05
laws may change, the laws may not change, but
31:08
the supernatural work of the tsunami grace of
31:11
God didn't come politically, and it didn't come
31:13
legislatively. I think I just made up a new word.
31:17
But it came because people's lives were changed.
31:23
Key word here is missional. We gotta be a people
31:27
24 -7. I wanna be a missionary in my home. I
31:31
wanna be a missionary in my neighborhood. I wanna
31:33
be a missionary where I work out. I wanna be
31:35
a missionary 24 -7 where people see the love
31:39
of Christ, the holiness of Christ. But you know
31:42
what? You know what happens to churches? As soon
31:44
as you get a little bit of success, we start
31:46
thinking about how do we protect our stuff? This
31:49
group didn't have any buildings, didn't have
31:51
any staff, didn't have any money, didn't have
31:52
any DVDs, didn't have any satellites, and didn't
31:54
have any Bibles. And it changed the world. Why?
31:58
Because they were missional. They weren't trying
32:01
to figure out what works for us and if we had
32:03
a little bit more of this, it'd be more comfortable.
32:05
They were saying the risen Christ lives in me
32:08
now through the Holy Spirit and I'm on task.
32:11
And I'm a part of the tsunami grace of redemption
32:14
and reconciliation. And by the way, this doesn't
32:18
mean that tomorrow you need to share the four
32:19
laws of the bridge illustration. How about getting
32:21
to know your neighbor's names? I mean, how about
32:25
just inviting some people over and say, I'd love
32:28
to hear your story, how long you been in the
32:29
area? Just befriend people. Be nice to people
32:33
at work. Get out of the cubbyhole mentality.
32:36
My world, my stuff, my pressure, my emails. Be
32:41
missional. Third, he says, be dependent on the
32:45
Holy Spirit. I just want to remind you, we can't
32:49
do this. I can't do it, you can't do it. And
32:52
the principle here is apart from him, you can
32:55
do nothing. Jesus, the last time when they turned
33:00
the Passover to the Lord's Supper for the very
33:02
first time, he'd already washed their feet. And
33:04
then he walks with them. And as he walks with
33:06
them, they go to where he's gonna pray. And this
33:08
will be his last night. And as they go there,
33:11
he begins to talk about him being the true vine
33:13
and his father being the vine dresser. And about
33:16
all that you men need to know, I've taught you
33:19
a lot. All you need to do is abide. You just
33:21
need to be connected to me. And the way you're
33:23
going to be connected to me is going to be in
33:24
the power of the Holy Spirit. It's going to be
33:26
in the context of my words. And if you would
33:28
just stay connected to me, I'll produce the fruit
33:31
through you. Apart from me, this isn't about
33:34
getting rah -rah. This isn't about your fleshly
33:36
energy. Anything that you start in the flesh,
33:39
you have to remain and sustain in the flesh.
33:41
Anything that is launched in the spirit is maintained
33:44
and sustained by the spirit. This is about trusting
33:48
God to do supernatural things in you and through
33:51
you as you, before God, in community, on mission,
33:55
allow the word of God by the spirit of God to
33:58
take birth in your heart and you take steps of
34:00
faith and obedience. Key word here is prayer.
34:07
Had a chance to speak at Liberty University last
34:09
Friday. And a young 24, 25 year old who went
34:14
to school there and now works in sort of the
34:16
convocation department of, you know, they have
34:18
about 10 ,000 students that come in the basketball
34:20
arena every Friday for devotions. Actually, Monday,
34:23
Wednesday, and Friday. And I had a chance to
34:25
speak to those students. But, you know, came
34:27
in kind of late and so we got to talk to this
34:29
young gal. And, you know, within like, It was
34:32
about a 50 -minute ride. And Teresa and I got
34:34
out of the car and thought, man, she is one godly,
34:37
amazing young woman. And you know how you meet
34:40
someone and you think, this conversation went
34:42
way deeper than we should ever go in like 50
34:45
minutes. And then we got to know them just a
34:47
little bit. And we met her boyfriend and a little
34:49
bit of their journey. And then, you know, we
34:51
had a 50 -minute ride back. And it got way, way
34:54
deeper. And I just thought, I mean, it was like,
34:57
I know their vision is to have 85 % of all their
35:00
students graduate and go into, quote, the marketplace
35:02
as representatives and ambassadors for Christ.
35:05
I said, man, if they produce people like her,
35:06
they are going to shake the world. And as we
35:09
were going, she said, you know, I grew up in
35:10
a good Christian home. And, you know, it was
35:12
a different story. You know, I'm close with my
35:14
dad. My mom and dad are still married. I had
35:17
devotions. I went to this Bible college and it
35:20
was pretty strict in some ways. But I got up
35:23
every morning and I read the Bible. But she said,
35:26
one day the president of our school did something
35:28
that changed my life. I said, what's that? He
35:30
said, he held up this tiny little book. It was
35:32
an old, old book by E .M. Bounds called The Power
35:35
of Prayer. And he challenged us in chapel, if
35:38
you will read this book and then pray 10 minutes
35:41
in the morning, 10 minutes at noon, and 10 minutes
35:44
at night, just for six months, I'll give you
35:47
this book. She said, I just felt like God prompted
35:49
me. So, you know, I went down and I picked up
35:51
this book. And if you've ever read the book,
35:52
I mean, it's like, it's a really powerful book
35:55
on prayer. Very challenging. And so she said,
36:00
you know, I was reading my Bible. Candidly, I
36:03
was a very good moral person. She goes, I read
36:06
that book on prayer and I began to see God's
36:08
promises and to expect supernatural things. And
36:11
you know, 10 minutes doesn't sound very long.
36:13
But like for 10 minutes deeply, And then 10 minutes
36:16
at noon and then like 10 minutes at night, she
36:18
goes, my life changed. My view of God changed.
36:21
I saw God doing things I'd never seen before.
36:23
I came out of a good home. I'm in a Bible school.
36:25
I was reading the Bible. But the power of God,
36:28
the supernatural power of God and my view of
36:31
him and what he could do and what he wanted to
36:32
do with me, it was revolutionized when I began
36:35
to really pray. That's God's agenda for us in
36:40
21st century church. We need to be confident.
36:44
We need to be clear and we need to be dependent.
36:48
And probably the greatest evidence of my dependency
36:50
and your dependency is the depth, extent, and
36:54
even at times length of your prayer life. If
36:58
it's always on the run, and there's two kinds
37:00
of prayer. There's the deep secret prayer. You
37:03
know, I mean, you get in your room, you sit quietly
37:06
before God, there's adoration, there's confession,
37:09
there's thanksgiving, there's intercession for
37:11
others. And then there's quiet listening. Lord,
37:14
what would you want to say to me? Do you want
37:15
to give me direction? Do you want to convict
37:17
me? Do you want to show me anything? And then
37:19
there's the get in your car, in meetings, traveling,
37:22
talking with God throughout the day. I'm talking
37:25
about that first kind right now. How are you
37:29
doing with that? That becomes a part of the culture
37:34
more and more and more and more and more in your
37:37
personal culture. You'll see things happen that
37:40
you think only happen to other people. Be confident.
37:45
Be clear. Be dependent. And finally, be obedient.
37:49
But not in general. Be obedient to today's truth.
37:53
Did you notice those early disciples? I love
37:55
this. Peter didn't say, hey, Jesus said we're
37:58
supposed to reach the world. Come on, guys, let's
38:00
go for it. What's the first truth? You just go,
38:03
and what we learn, for about the next 10 days,
38:05
and you just go pray. In fact, just wait. And
38:08
while they're waiting, Peter says, well, Is there
38:12
anything in our Bible, he had the whole testament,
38:14
is there anything in our Bible that we should
38:16
be doing now? Well, you know that passage in
38:20
Psalm 69 is clear about the one who's gonna betray.
38:23
I never saw that before, but I'm sure glad you
38:24
opened my mind to the scriptures, Lord. And then
38:27
that passage in 109 that we're supposed to replace
38:28
him. God's will today is to obey the next thing.
38:34
Now, I say that because this is a confession,
38:37
so please don't think too little of me if I be
38:40
just a bit honest here. There's times where God
38:42
speaks very clearly to me about doing something.
38:48
But I don't want to do it. So I read two more
38:51
chapters of the Bible. He speaks to me about
38:56
doing something and I don't want to do it. So
38:57
I say to myself, you know, honey, we're giving
38:59
to the church and faith promise and living on
39:01
the edge. You know what I think? Why don't we
39:02
just write a check here? He said. He tells me
39:06
something he wants me to do, and I think to myself,
39:08
you know, I wonder, I'm going to text so -and
39:10
-so and just encourage him. You know, hey, brother,
39:12
how you doing? Just was thinking, and I'll pray
39:13
for him right now. I really will, you know? And
39:16
I'm doing all these sort of things that are quite
39:19
a good Christian sort of things that I know,
39:21
but they're not the next thing. And sometimes
39:27
we play games with God, and honestly, you know
39:30
how you become a rigid, legalistic, uncaring?
39:34
religious person that drifts far away from God
39:37
and convinced that you're really close to him
39:39
is when you haven't obeyed the next thing. Because
39:43
your heart gets hard. And then you stuff all
39:46
this religion in it. And then you play all these
39:48
games. If God tells you to confront someone and
39:55
you read more of the Bible, you sin. So if God
39:59
is telling you, you know what, you need, maybe
40:02
there's someone that you realize, they're drifting
40:04
away from the Lord. I don't want to talk to him,
40:06
God. You know, it might ruin the relationship.
40:08
I don't know what to say. If he's telling you
40:10
to talk to someone, to confront him, do it. If
40:15
he's telling you today, you need to apologize
40:17
to someone or forgive them. Do it. Do it today.
40:23
If he's saying, I want you to share the gospel
40:26
with a neighbor or a coworker, then, you know,
40:30
we've got a relationship. I know, just do it.
40:33
Get on your email and say, could we have lunch?
40:35
Can I buy you coffee? And then you open the question
40:37
with, has anyone ever shared with you how much
40:40
God loves you and how to have a relationship
40:42
with him? And if he says no and I don't want
40:44
to, you're off the hook. But do it. God doesn't
40:48
put those promptings in your heart unless he's
40:50
been preparing someone. If God says to you, deal
40:54
with the porn issue, get counseling, start getting
40:57
your finances in order today, whatever it is,
41:00
do it. Because if you don't do the next step
41:04
where he speaks, here's the principle. Mark chapter
41:08
four, from the lips of Jesus. If you do not respond
41:11
to the light or the truth God gives you, then
41:15
he'll take away the truth that you have. If you
41:18
respond to the light that he gives you, he'll
41:21
give you more light. See, the organ of spiritual
41:23
growth is not knowledge. Here's the key word.
41:26
The organ of spiritual growth is application.
41:30
Jesus would say after his greatest sermon, let
41:33
me show you two kind of people. Some build on
41:36
the rock, some build on the sand. It all looks
41:38
the same. The activities are the same. There's
41:40
one difference. This group applies it. This group
41:43
doesn't. What would happen if every one of us
41:49
just in quietness before the Lord said, would
41:51
you just show me the next thing? By the way,
41:54
that's why it's hard to pray. You know why it's
41:58
hard to pray? Because when you get real quiet,
42:00
it reveals your spiritual poverty and my spiritual
42:04
poverty. And what it reveals is that, in other
42:07
words, if I get real quiet, I have this deep
42:09
down sense that I'm going to hear something I
42:11
don't want to hear. I don't want to apologize
42:14
to my wife. I don't want to hear her go to counseling.
42:16
I don't want to forgive my dad. He's a jerk.
42:20
Right? I don't want to get my finances in order.
42:22
I know I got a lot of debt, but you know, gosh,
42:24
it's going to be a pain. I have to own up to
42:25
some stuff. I don't want to deal with my addiction.
42:30
But I'll tell you this, you take the next first
42:34
step and God will give grace and God will bring
42:38
people and you'll have freedom and you'll know
42:41
the truth and the truth will set you free. And
42:43
you know what? You'll experience something you
42:44
never experienced. Guess what? Now you're a witness.
42:46
See, because when they took the early disciples
42:48
and said, shut up, you can't talk about this
42:50
anymore. They said, who should we obey, man or
42:53
God? We can't stop talking. about this Jesus.
42:58
Why? Because they were experiencing him. You
43:02
only experience him if you obey the truth for
43:07
today. You've been listening to Living on the
43:11
Edge with Chip Ingram, wrapping up The Call to
43:14
All, part of our current series called The Jesus
43:17
Revolution. Stick around. Chip is going to tell
43:20
us more about the mid -year match we mentioned
43:22
before. And if you'd like to connect with our
43:25
growing online community, find us on Facebook
43:27
and Instagram at Living on the Edge with Chip
43:31
Ingram. And for the full uncut version of Chip's
43:33
messages, subscribe to the Chip Ingram Sermon
43:36
Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
43:40
Chip ended today by asking us to stop and do
43:43
something uncomfortable. Get quiet, ask God what
43:46
the next thing is, and then actually do it. Not
43:49
read two more chapters, not write a check to
43:52
something safer. The next thing. It sounds simple,
43:55
and it is, until you sit down and try it. Because
43:58
the moment you get quiet, God has a way of getting
44:01
specific. And specific obedience is where the
44:04
revolution begins. And speaking of revolution,
44:07
here's Chip to tell you what your support of
44:09
Living on the Edge is actually building out there
44:12
in the world. One of the most striking things
44:14
about Acts chapter 2 is that the early church
44:17
didn't scatter after Pentecost. They gathered.
44:20
They shared meals. They prayed together. They
44:23
held each other accountable. They were in each
44:25
other's lives in a deep, daily, sacrificial way.
44:29
And what was the result? The Lord added to their
44:32
number daily those who were being saved. If you're
44:35
a part of a church community that loves and serves
44:37
Jesus and others, you already know the power
44:41
of believers doing life together. You know, a
44:44
number of years ago, I think it was 2009, we
44:47
were teaching all around the world, and we just
44:49
realized with the event of the Internet that
44:52
people could get teaching almost anywhere for
44:55
free. And we took a huge step of faith and we
44:58
started creating small group curriculum. And
45:00
we launched it right on the broadcast. And within
45:03
a few years, literally not 100, not 200, not
45:06
300, we launched about 400 ,000 groups in the
45:09
next four or five years. And it got to the point
45:12
where we didn't even count them anymore. And
45:14
we had Barna do some research and found out there
45:17
was like 9 .8 people. I don't know what happened
45:20
to that. 0 .8 person, but there was almost 10
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people in every group, and we realized hearing
45:26
God's Word is great, but when we could get people
45:29
in a living room or an office or even in a Sunday
45:32
school class in a small group studying God's
45:34
Word, that's when the power and the change and
45:38
the movement, it's what Jesus did. And when you
45:41
support Living on the Edge, you are helping communities
45:45
of people study God's Word in small groups, not
45:48
only here. but all around the world. If you're
45:51
not in community, can I encourage you, start
45:54
a group or get in a group. And whether you are
45:57
or whether you're not, you can make that happen
46:00
here and all around the world. Your gift this
46:03
month will be doubled dollar for dollar, creating
46:07
communities that exhibit love in such ways that
46:11
lost people say, this Jesus really is the Savior
46:15
of the world. What Chip just described, that's
46:19
what your gift makes possible. When you give
46:21
to this mid -year match, you're not just supporting
46:24
a radio program, you're funding the kind of community
46:27
Chip talked about today. Go online to livingontheedge
46:31
.org or call us at 888 -333 -6003. Every dollar
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you invest this month is matched dollar for dollar.
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That means twice the groups, twice the lives,
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twice the impact for the same gift you were already
46:45
considering. Again, just go online at livingontheedge
46:49
.org or call us at 888 -333 -6003 to give today.
46:55
Well, I'm Dave Drewy. Next time, Chip explores
46:57
the birth of a movement. 120 people, 10 days
47:02
of waiting, and then the world changed forever.
47:05
Join us next time on Living on the Edge. Today's
47:11
program is produced and sponsored by Living on
47:14
the Edge.