Acts 1:6-8 | Witnesses
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Intro
Hey y’all, how is everyone?
It’s good to be back. How is school going?
Everyone getting used to the routine? Good, good.
6th graders its a big adjustment for y’all, how you feeling?
Seniors, how you feeling?
cool.
Well let’s get into it.
if you have a bible go ahead and flip over to the book of Acts. We are gonna be in Acts for a few weeks in here.
We aren’t going to hit every single verse in acts as we study it, but we are gonna hit the highlights.
SO Acts chapter 1, verse 6-8 is where we are going to be.
So let’s read these short verses together and then let’s talk about it.
But before we do that, let’s pray for our time in the word.
Pray
Okay, so read this with me.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Context
Okay, so let me set up the book of Acts,
Acts is weird name for a book, the full name is the acts of the apostles,
So basically the book is a record of what was going on at the very start of the church.
Christianity is just starting out.
So Acts is a detailed history.
It is written by Luke, and is really book 2 of his Gospel.
You have the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
Same guy that wrote Luke, also wrote Acts.
How do we know this? The very first book is talking to the same guy the book of Luke starts with, Theophilus.
He says, Acts 1:1-3
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Acts is the sequel.
Really Luke and Acts could be read as one whole book, with two acts, no pun intended.
Its answering the question, “Now what?” or “Then what happened?”
It’d be like watching a play, the first Act will have some sort of resolution, but you’re gonna want to know what happens next?
If you’re watching Hamilton, if they just stopped it with the first act, itd be okay, but you would want to know what happen after the war.
So what is going on here in the beginning of Acts.
The disciples have been with the risen Jesus in Jerusalem for 40 days.
And they are wondering, what happens now?
I think for many of us, at some point you have thought that same question.
You work toward something, it comes, it happens, you get through it, and it’s over and you think,
well now what?
Seniors, I know you’ve been thinking that question, of “what’s next?”
So put yourself in the shoes of the disciples, they have been living life with Jesus for three years, they watched him get beaten, nailed to a cross, killed, and then come back from the dead, and he’s just hanging out with him.
So the emotional rollercoaster they’ve been on is pretty crazy.
Think about it, in about 45-50 days, they have gone from Jesus being heralded by the people in Jerusalem as the Messiah, to those same people a week later calling for him to be crucified.
Jesus being crucified, rising from the dead,
and so they have been all over the place in the last 45-50 days.
and they are asking, well, now what?
In the span of basically one summer, their whole world changed twice.
Once when Christ was on the cross, they had no idea what to do, they’re scared, hiding.
Then, Christ rises from the dead. World changes again.
So they’re looking at Jesus asking the question, okay, now what?
Look at verse 6,
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Okay Lord, are you going to bring the Kingdom now?
Ex P1 - What is the kingdom?
So what are they looking for here?
They ask, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Are you going to do that now?
SO what are they asking?
They are asking two things I think.
Are you going to over throw the romans?
That is who is in charge.
This is the beginning of the Roman Empire, and they’re the dudes in charge, they’ve taken over everything.
So one, is Jesus now going to over throw the Romans?
Two, are you going to restore all things?
So what is the kingdom?
The kingdom is the rule and reign of Christ and the restoration of all things.
So in one sense, Christ has brought in the kingdom already.
He has risen from the dead, and made a way for us to have relationship with him, and he is now seated at the right hand of the father.
This is the rest of this part in acts, Jesus ascends, and they are told He will come back in the same manner.
In another sense, the kingdom is not yet fully in, cause the Romans are still ruling. The world is broken.
I mean the time that the early church and and the first probably 300 years of church history, they are gonna face some serious persecution.
People are gonna die for their faith regularly.
APP1 -Why do we need to understand the kingdom?
So why do we need to have a proper understanding of the kingdom?
Because if we get the kingdom wrong then our goals and aspirations are going to be misguided.
So who went to camp this year? Yeah, camp rules,
So you know in the afternoon, you go to site.
I was a driver going to our site this year.
Mrs. Robin was my copilot, and Charleston was the only other person from our church in our group.
So we going down the road, got the GPS pulled up, the google is just a going.
I’m following the other non descript white van.
And all the sudden the van gets off the highways, Google says keep going, but the van i’m following gets off, so what’d i do? I followed the van, maybe they’re using waze who knows.
So the google resets. they make a turn, i follow, google is good.
Then the van deviates again from google.
So i deviate.
this happens one more time and we are no where near where we are supposed to be,
turns out I was following the wrong van.
Proably should have figured that out sooner.
but it looked just like the other white van full of students going somewhere.
So we were like 5 mins late to where we supposed to go.
But what happened?
I had the idea that that is van, thats the one, we gotta follow it, even if the gps is freaking out ever 30 seconds.
So if we misunderstand the kingdom we will work toward something Christ was not wanting us to do.
For some who followed Jesus, they are thinking the kingdom is going to be this political kingdom, strong military, kicks out Rome.
Others, thinking it’s David is coming back to rule.
And this thought continues today.
The idea of a perfect Christian nation. A theocracy. People are still calling for that.
and if you follow any sort of politics, you know that ain’t gonna happen.
And if it did, it wouldn’t be perfect.
So if we aren’t sure about what the kingdom is, we will miss out on the work Christ calls us in to.
Because here is the thing about the kingdom.
It is the already but not yet. and we are here in the middle.
Christ is King, and is ruling and reigning, but not everything has been restored yet.
So Christ has called us in to the work of proclaiming the kingdom that is and is coming.
EXP2 - Why don’t we need to know when it’s coming?
So that’s the kingdom, but look at how Jesus responds to the question. I want your thoughts here.
Does Jesus answer the question?
If you were a disciple, and heard this answer.
Does Jesus answer the question? What do you think?
Verse 7
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
Is that a satisfactory answer? I know there is a verse 8, but verse 7.
what do you think?
Id be kinda like, okay.
He basically says, it’s coming but you don’t need to know when. It’s fine. Wait.
SO why do we not need to know when the kingdom is coming?
To be honest, i’m not sure why he wouldn’t come out and say this time.
But i think it plays to how are human nature is.
If we knew the exact time something was gonna happen, what would you do in the mean time? You’d be looking at the clock.
Growing up, how many of you had a birthday party at your house, and all week, you know all your friends are coming over at 2:00 on Saturday.
What do you do Saturday morning?
You stare out the window until people start pulling up. What does your mom want you to do?
Get the house clean. You got company coming.
What are you just terrible at on that particular Saturday morning?
Cleaning up the house.
Maybe it’s just me but if I have something fun happening in the afternoon, that whole day just turns in to waiting on stuff.
But you don’t do anything while you are waiting.
You become more focused on the party than getting ready for the party. I know for me, i’m worthless around the house.
I don’t know why Jesus didn’t tell them exactly, or why exactly it’s not for us to know.
But what we do know is that the time it happens doesn’t matter, we just know it’s gonna happen.
That is what Jesus is telling them, don’t worry about the time. Be ready, and here is what to do while you wait.
APP2 - Waiting is a part of faith.
So waiting is baked in to the fabric of the Christian life.
I think for us, especially us here in these modern times we don’t like to wait for nothing.
I got honked at this morning at a light that had just turned green.
Our world has be built on the idea of speed, efficiency, productivity.
Now.
Y’all use amazon, if it ain’t two day shipping, are you gonna buy it?
My brother live just north of Atlanta, they have same day delivery. Dude can order something that morning, its getting delivered in a couple hours.
That is crazy.
I’m not complaining about fast shipping, I’m here for it.
But i think we have been conditioned to think waiting is not a good thing.
Because this idea of right now i gotta have it, has seeped in to other parts of our lives.
Take sexuality, waiting is tough. Want it now, how I want it.
take ideas on gender, I can change it right here, right now, nothing can stop me.
Or just happiness in general, I’m not happy, I need to change everything now.
The idea that happiness is the end goal, and that it must be attained now is not a good thing.
There will be times in your life where you are not happy. And you will think, I gotta change everything right now.
And that is not true.
Suffering is going to happen, and patience in suffering build resiliency.
Builds steadfastness.
I’m not saying don’t try to change some things to make life better for you, but don’t make life altering decisions just because you feel unhappy in the moment.
Waiting on the Lord and doing what he asks us to do while we wait is the very fabric of the christian life.
EXP3 - witness?
So what did Jesus tell them to do?
Look at verse 8.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
look at this word witness.
Jesus says, you will be my witnesses.
What does that mean.
What is a witness, not in churchy terms.
But just in general, what is a witness?
It is someone who saw or experienced something.
What is an eyewitness? someone who saw the event.
If you see a car crash, you witnessed it.
Or even major events, I still remember witnessing the press conference on tv when everything got shut down cause of COVID.
You probaly all have your on version of that story or that day.
so that is what a witness is.
SO what is Jesus telling the disciples here.
He is saying go and tell people what you have seen.
Go and be my witness.
APP3 - What is a good witness?
So what makes a good witness?
Cause I know if you grew up in church, you have heard this term, so much that it probably has lost the meaning.
Someone has told you to go and be a good witness,
not wrong, but what is a good witness?
I think culturally we have kinda just turned being a good witness in to being a good person.
And that is part of it, like you should lead a moral life, but not for the sake of morality.
A good witness is a person who lives faithfully.
who lives in light of what they have seen or experienced.
They way Jesus uses this is as a noun, you will be what?
My witnesses. In this sentence, its a noun.
but to witness something is a verb right?
if you witnesses an event whats the verb, witness.
So a good witness, that Jesus is talking about here is someone who lives in light of what they saw or experienced.
and then because what they have seen or experienced, they tell people, based on that.
Like think about it in terms of like a court case.
What is the worst possible witness?
You get on a witness on the stand.
two witness and they are equally bad.
First one, a liar. That just makes thing worse.
But second, is a witness who just doesn’t say anything.
A silent witness is no witness at all.
So the witness that Christ is telling them to be is both, a moral person but also a person that tells.
This can be summed up in faithfulness.
A person who is moral but silent is not a good witness, but a person who is not silent, but also immoral is not a credible witness.
So Christ is saying go and be my witness.
This can go hand in hand with how Matthew ends.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Go and be faithful.
Jesus is saying go and live a life that is marked by what you have seen in me.
This explains what happens in the early church and is the set up for the book of Acts.
its a set up for the explosion of Christianity through the Roman world.
think about it.
the disciples went from scared and in hiding to bold and willing to die for Christ.
Die for what they had seen. and because of that Christianity grew like crazy.
The greek word for witness is martyr.
That means something different to us today.
Martyr is someone who dies for the faith.
But that is what Christ calls the disciples to.
The disciples went out from here and lived lives so radically different from the rest of the world, people starting being converted left and right.
They lived their whole lives in the light of the gospel. In light of what they saw in who Jesus truly is.
and even as the persecutions from Rome came, the church exploded.
a second century Church father, Tertullian said,
“the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
The blood of the witnesses is the seed of the church.
Same word Jesus uses here in Acts.
That is what makes our faith so different.
P2Christ - How do we help bring in the kingdom?
So early i said, we live in this already not yet space of the kingdom of God.
Jesus says in the gospels, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
So how do we help bring in the kingdom?
This is how God has set up the kingdom to work, through the life of the local church.
Look at the end of verse 8.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
where? Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth.
This is where we are called to go.
Start where you are, and your impact will be far reaching.
Because look at it, we are a church in gray Georgia, is the American continent mentioned in the bible? nope.
Did Paul have a missionary journey to the US? nope. but someone did.
This is why its so important to understand the kingdom, Christ’s dominion is not spread through power but through his church.
That the people of God who are faithful are the ones who move the boards of the kingdom.
Not through political systems, not through military might, but through the common ordinary life of the church full of people who live in then light of who Jesus is.
the person who said this escapes me, but a theologian once said about spreading the gospel and expanding the kingdom,
Make good men wish Christianity was true, then compel them that it is.
So Jesus is calling us all in to a very different life than what we might think.
Christ is calling us to live lives radically different from what we might think we are going to do.
He is calling us to proclaim the kingdom and live our lives like it is here.
calling us to faithfulness.
Close - Invite
So tonight, if you have not every responded to that call to follow Christ, i want to invite you in to the kingdom.
One of the things that I want us to start realizing here in student ministry is this idea of following Christ in all of life for all of life.
not just while you are in student ministry, but that following Christ would go beyond just being in here, that you would join in with the local church.
That you would submit to who Christ is in every aspect of your life and for all of your life.
So for some of you, you’ve got the follow Christ part, its the in all of life part that is hard. I want you to consider what Christ has for you that may not be what you think you have for you.
But tonight if you do not know Christ as lord and savior, I want you to ask why. I want to invite you in to the kingdom.
If you have any questions about what it means to be saved, or to be a disciple or to follow Christ, come talk to me.
y’all pray with me.
