1 00:00:05,042 --> 00:00:06,333 Howdy, Pastor Mark here. 2 00:00:06,375 --> 00:00:09,708 I wanted to say thanks for tuning in and joining us for our sermon series. 3 00:00:09,792 --> 00:00:11,417 We're currently in the Book of Acts. 4 00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:14,500 We're actually going to take a chunk every year after Easter 5 00:00:14,583 --> 00:00:16,875 for the next number of years. 6 00:00:16,958 --> 00:00:19,542 And for those of you who pray for me or for us, 7 00:00:19,625 --> 00:00:23,583 those of you who give to the church, want to say thank you very, very much. 8 00:00:23,667 --> 00:00:25,625 For those of you who'd like to get connected 9 00:00:25,667 --> 00:00:27,958 and be part of the extended Mars Hill family, 10 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,375 go to marshill.com/global, we'll sign you up for a "connect" account. 11 00:00:32,458 --> 00:00:34,333 That'll get you some free resources 12 00:00:34,375 --> 00:00:37,292 and allow you to know what's going on at Mars Hill. 13 00:00:37,333 --> 00:00:41,000 In addition you can also find the study guide for the "Acts" series. 14 00:00:41,083 --> 00:00:44,458 It was put together by a team right here at Mars Hill church. 15 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:46,042 We've made it very inexpensive. 16 00:00:46,125 --> 00:00:48,917 Any of the proceeds come back to the church, not to me. 17 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,500 And we'd love to have you do a deep study 18 00:00:51,583 --> 00:00:53,667 with us through the Book of Acts. 19 00:00:53,750 --> 00:00:55,750 So we love you, we appreciate you, thank you, 20 00:00:55,833 --> 00:00:58,125 and thanks for signing up for a global account. 21 00:01:04,667 --> 00:01:10,167 Jesus said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit 22 00:01:10,250 --> 00:01:12,375 "has come upon you, 23 00:01:12,458 --> 00:01:17,000 "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem 24 00:01:17,042 --> 00:01:21,333 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 25 00:01:24,125 --> 00:01:29,833 What does Jesus' mission look like here? 26 00:01:29,917 --> 00:01:33,958 What's his mission here? 27 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,000 What does Jesus' mission look like here? 28 00:01:38,042 --> 00:01:42,292 What does Jesus' mission look like here? 29 00:01:42,333 --> 00:01:46,042 What is Jesus' mission here? 30 00:01:46,125 --> 00:01:48,667 How do I know what Jesus' mission is? 31 00:01:52,958 --> 00:01:55,667 All right, grab your Bibles. We're in the book of Acts. 32 00:01:55,708 --> 00:01:57,833 We start a new book of the Bible today. 33 00:01:57,917 --> 00:02:00,167 Mars Hill, we like books of the Bible, right? 34 00:02:00,208 --> 00:02:01,833 Go to the book of Acts. 35 00:02:01,917 --> 00:02:04,167 As you're turning there, we're going to study together, 36 00:02:04,208 --> 00:02:05,625 over the course of 9 weeks, 37 00:02:05,667 --> 00:02:09,000 the early history of the first Christians, 38 00:02:09,042 --> 00:02:11,250 but here's how we're going to study it. 39 00:02:11,333 --> 00:02:13,167 We're not going to study it as scholars; 40 00:02:13,250 --> 00:02:15,333 we're going to study it as soldiers. 41 00:02:15,417 --> 00:02:18,667 Scholars and soldiers tend to be the ones 42 00:02:18,708 --> 00:02:20,500 who study history the most. 43 00:02:20,542 --> 00:02:23,167 Scholars want to look at what people used to do; 44 00:02:23,250 --> 00:02:26,667 soldiers want to see what remains to be done. 45 00:02:26,750 --> 00:02:28,500 Those who are scholars, 46 00:02:28,542 --> 00:02:31,500 they study history for the sake of information; 47 00:02:31,542 --> 00:02:35,292 those who are soldiers study it for the sake of mission. 48 00:02:35,333 --> 00:02:38,000 As we come to study the history of the early church, 49 00:02:38,042 --> 00:02:40,500 we're not just looking at what God used to do, 50 00:02:40,542 --> 00:02:44,250 but what God still wants to do, amen? 51 00:02:44,333 --> 00:02:47,958 And we're invited today to be part of the most important 52 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,542 mission in the history of the world. 53 00:02:50,625 --> 00:02:54,375 A soldier marches forward so that people may have life. 54 00:02:54,458 --> 00:02:57,250 We march forward together as the people of God that people 55 00:02:57,333 --> 00:03:00,125 may receive eternal life. 56 00:03:00,167 --> 00:03:02,000 God has assembled us together. 57 00:03:02,083 --> 00:03:04,875 He's chosen us to be born when we were born, 58 00:03:04,958 --> 00:03:08,375 to live where we live, and he has assembled us together to be 59 00:03:08,458 --> 00:03:11,250 on a great mission with him. 60 00:03:11,333 --> 00:03:14,167 And the story of the Bible is that God has an enemy, 61 00:03:14,250 --> 00:03:16,875 and that he has taken into captivity those who are 62 00:03:16,958 --> 00:03:19,875 apart from Jesus, that their hearts are hard, 63 00:03:19,958 --> 00:03:22,458 that their eyes are closed, 64 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:26,167 that their life is destined toward destruction. 65 00:03:26,250 --> 00:03:28,000 And that we have this great news, 66 00:03:28,042 --> 00:03:33,000 this great good news to tell, that Jesus Christ conquers sin, 67 00:03:33,042 --> 00:03:35,583 that Jesus Christ conquers death, 68 00:03:35,667 --> 00:03:38,583 that Jesus Christ is alive and well. 69 00:03:38,667 --> 00:03:42,750 And we are commissioned--we are sent on mission into the world-- 70 00:03:42,833 --> 00:03:46,583 to tell others about the victory of Jesus. 71 00:03:46,667 --> 00:03:50,583 And it all begins right here in Acts 1. 72 00:03:50,667 --> 00:03:53,250 If you've wondered, "How did Christianity start? 73 00:03:53,333 --> 00:03:55,667 "How did churches come into existence? 74 00:03:55,750 --> 00:03:58,333 Why is Mars Hill Church even here?" 75 00:03:58,417 --> 00:04:01,667 Here we read it in the beginning of the book of Acts. 76 00:04:01,708 --> 00:04:04,042 So, if you would turn there with me, 77 00:04:04,125 --> 00:04:08,958 we'll start with Jesus' life in Acts 1:1-3. 78 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,792 And I want you to see that it's all about Jesus. 79 00:04:11,833 --> 00:04:16,292 The first 11 verses of Acts that we'll examine together today-- 80 00:04:16,333 --> 00:04:19,000 every single verse mentions Jesus. 81 00:04:19,042 --> 00:04:22,083 There is no Christianity without Christ. 82 00:04:22,167 --> 00:04:23,667 Here's how it begins: 83 00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:25,875 "In the first book, O Theophilus, 84 00:04:25,958 --> 00:04:29,333 "I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 85 00:04:29,417 --> 00:04:31,375 "until the day when he was taken up, 86 00:04:31,458 --> 00:04:34,833 after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit"-- 87 00:04:34,917 --> 00:04:37,292 you're going to learn a ton about the Holy Spirit 88 00:04:37,333 --> 00:04:39,042 in the next 9 weeks. 89 00:04:39,125 --> 00:04:41,500 He is going to appear every single week. 90 00:04:41,542 --> 00:04:43,375 You're going to learn a lot about him-- 91 00:04:43,458 --> 00:04:45,667 "to the apostles"--those are leaders--"whom he had chosen. 92 00:04:45,750 --> 00:04:48,667 "He presented himself alive to them after his suffering 93 00:04:48,750 --> 00:04:52,000 "by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days 94 00:04:52,042 --> 00:04:56,750 and speaking about"--and there it is--"the kingdom of God." 95 00:04:56,833 --> 00:04:58,792 And he talks about the first book. 96 00:04:58,833 --> 00:05:00,750 When he speaks of the first book, 97 00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:02,542 he's talking about the book of Luke. 98 00:05:02,625 --> 00:05:06,042 How many of you were here when we went through the book of Luke 99 00:05:06,125 --> 00:05:07,458 a few years ago? 100 00:05:07,500 --> 00:05:10,458 We took a few years and went through the book of Luke. 101 00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:12,458 That was the prequel; this is the sequel. 102 00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:16,167 In the book of Luke, it tells us that Jesus gave us his life. 103 00:05:16,208 --> 00:05:19,333 In Acts, it shows us how Jesus gave us his power 104 00:05:19,417 --> 00:05:20,833 through the person and the presence 105 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:22,167 of the Holy Spirit. 106 00:05:22,250 --> 00:05:25,792 And so we have the same author, and he is writing to tell us 107 00:05:25,833 --> 00:05:29,375 the history of Jesus and the history of Jesus' people, 108 00:05:29,458 --> 00:05:30,958 the first Christians in the church. 109 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,042 And so that's the first book that he, in fact, references. 110 00:05:34,125 --> 00:05:36,375 And he tells us that back in Luke, 111 00:05:36,458 --> 00:05:39,458 he recorded for us all that, and he says it right here: 112 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:42,167 "Jesus began to do and to teach." 113 00:05:42,250 --> 00:05:45,292 So, that's Jesus' works and his words. 114 00:05:45,333 --> 00:05:46,792 And this is very important. 115 00:05:46,833 --> 00:05:49,167 John Calvin called this "a holy knot." 116 00:05:49,250 --> 00:05:51,667 All right, next time you lace up your shoes, think, 117 00:05:51,750 --> 00:05:53,958 "Jesus' works and Jesus' words," 118 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,792 and they go together into a holy knot. 119 00:05:56,833 --> 00:05:58,792 Some people really like Jesus' works. 120 00:05:58,833 --> 00:06:00,333 "Oh look, there's Jesus. 121 00:06:00,375 --> 00:06:03,208 "He's feeding the hungry, he's giving sight to the blind, 122 00:06:03,292 --> 00:06:05,042 "he's playing with children. 123 00:06:05,125 --> 00:06:06,500 We love that." 124 00:06:06,542 --> 00:06:09,458 Where some have resistance is not so much to Jesus' works 125 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:11,292 but to his words, 126 00:06:11,333 --> 00:06:13,250 "I am God," "I am Savior," 127 00:06:13,333 --> 00:06:14,833 "I am Creator," 128 00:06:14,917 --> 00:06:17,292 "I am the Judge of the living and the dead," 129 00:06:17,333 --> 00:06:19,458 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, 130 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:21,958 and no one comes to the Father but by me." 131 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,167 The conflict, the controversy occurs over Jesus' words. 132 00:06:26,250 --> 00:06:28,000 Over Jesus' words. 133 00:06:28,042 --> 00:06:31,667 So, as we read, particularly the Gospel of Luke as he 134 00:06:31,750 --> 00:06:34,792 is referencing here, I want you to, as you read the Bible, 135 00:06:34,833 --> 00:06:38,167 look at Jesus' works and say, "That's amazing that Jesus 136 00:06:38,250 --> 00:06:41,583 would love and give and serve so well," 137 00:06:41,667 --> 00:06:43,833 but don't overlook his words. 138 00:06:43,917 --> 00:06:48,292 Don't just look to his works; listen to his words. 139 00:06:48,333 --> 00:06:53,083 Who he says he is is why he ultimately died. 140 00:06:53,167 --> 00:06:56,167 He was put to death, not for anything that he did, 141 00:06:56,208 --> 00:07:01,750 but for many things that he said, claiming to be God. 142 00:07:01,833 --> 00:07:04,583 So, he's saying here that these two knots go together. 143 00:07:04,667 --> 00:07:07,292 As we look at Jesus' character, we see that here is 144 00:07:07,333 --> 00:07:13,292 a very trustworthy, honorable, humble, generous giver, 145 00:07:13,333 --> 00:07:17,000 and then when we hear his words, we have to then realize that 146 00:07:17,042 --> 00:07:20,792 he's making claims that no one else makes in the history 147 00:07:20,833 --> 00:07:24,375 of the world, saying that he is the Creator, 148 00:07:24,458 --> 00:07:28,083 saying that he is the Sustainer, saying that he is the Redeemer, 149 00:07:28,167 --> 00:07:31,333 saying that he is God among us. 150 00:07:31,417 --> 00:07:33,292 And then if we disagree with him, 151 00:07:33,333 --> 00:07:36,083 we have to go back to his works and ask, 152 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:39,458 "Is this the kind of man who would tell this kind of lie? 153 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:42,292 "Does he have the kind of character that causes me 154 00:07:42,333 --> 00:07:45,667 "to be compelled to not only admire his works but to trust 155 00:07:45,750 --> 00:07:47,542 in his words?" 156 00:07:47,625 --> 00:07:49,167 And that's exactly what he's saying. 157 00:07:49,250 --> 00:07:52,458 He's setting it up all around Jesus. 158 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:57,167 And when it comes to Jesus' works, it's his sinless life, 159 00:07:57,250 --> 00:08:01,833 it's his substitutionary death in our place for our sins, 160 00:08:01,875 --> 00:08:05,500 it's his burial in the grave, and it's his resurrection 161 00:08:05,542 --> 00:08:09,042 and triumphant victory over sin and death that constitutes 162 00:08:09,125 --> 00:08:11,292 the heart of his works. 163 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:14,292 And then when he tells us that we can turn from sin, 164 00:08:14,333 --> 00:08:17,375 that we can trust in him, that in him there is forgiveness 165 00:08:17,458 --> 00:08:19,875 of sin, that in him there is eternal life, 166 00:08:19,958 --> 00:08:23,667 then his words and his works come together. 167 00:08:23,750 --> 00:08:28,583 As we believe his words, we experience his work. 168 00:08:28,667 --> 00:08:30,500 And that's exactly what he's telling us. 169 00:08:30,542 --> 00:08:33,500 So, this is so incredibly important, Mars Hill, 170 00:08:33,542 --> 00:08:38,250 because what tends to happen is that some love what Jesus did 171 00:08:38,333 --> 00:08:41,958 but disagree with what Jesus said. 172 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,458 And here, he tells us to listen to what Jesus said--his words-- 173 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:49,167 and to watch what Jesus did--his works. 174 00:08:49,208 --> 00:08:52,583 And the most important work that Jesus did was his resurrection 175 00:08:52,667 --> 00:08:54,542 from the dead. 176 00:08:54,625 --> 00:08:58,167 All of his claims are confirmed through his resurrection. 177 00:08:58,208 --> 00:09:00,833 No one beats death. 178 00:09:00,917 --> 00:09:03,958 No one beats death-- except for Jesus Christ. 179 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,375 He beat death. 180 00:09:05,458 --> 00:09:07,375 He died and was buried, and he rose. 181 00:09:07,458 --> 00:09:10,375 And he tells us here that he appeared for how many days? 182 00:09:10,458 --> 00:09:12,250 Forty days. 183 00:09:12,333 --> 00:09:15,667 And he says he offered many convincing proofs. 184 00:09:15,708 --> 00:09:18,667 This includes having breakfast with people. 185 00:09:18,750 --> 00:09:21,375 OK, that's pretty convincing proof. 186 00:09:21,458 --> 00:09:23,542 You're there, a guy dies, 187 00:09:23,625 --> 00:09:26,667 you go to his grave site to leave flowers, 188 00:09:26,750 --> 00:09:30,292 you realize that it's open, he's not there. 189 00:09:30,333 --> 00:09:31,958 Where is he? What happened? 190 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:33,500 Oh, he's in town having breakfast. 191 00:09:33,542 --> 00:09:35,500 You go have breakfast with him. 192 00:09:35,542 --> 00:09:38,167 You say, "Were you the guy that got crucified?" 193 00:09:38,208 --> 00:09:39,875 "Yes, here are the scars." 194 00:09:39,958 --> 00:09:41,958 True or false, convincing proof? 195 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:43,792 Very convincing proof. 196 00:09:43,833 --> 00:09:46,958 You don't even have to go to college to get that one right, 197 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,333 all right? 198 00:09:48,417 --> 00:09:50,500 So, there are the kinds of convincing proofs 199 00:09:50,542 --> 00:09:51,958 that Jesus offered. 200 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,667 He hung out for 40 days. 201 00:09:53,708 --> 00:09:55,833 He had breakfast with people the Bible records. 202 00:09:55,917 --> 00:09:59,083 People came up and gave him a hug to see that he was 203 00:09:59,167 --> 00:10:01,500 actually, physically, literally resurrected from death. 204 00:10:01,542 --> 00:10:03,875 Guys like Thomas came up to him and said, 205 00:10:03,958 --> 00:10:06,083 "I won't believe unless I see it for myself." 206 00:10:06,167 --> 00:10:09,583 He sees the crucifixion scars in Jesus' hands and side, 207 00:10:09,667 --> 00:10:14,500 falls down, proclaims, "This is my Lord; this is my God." 208 00:10:14,542 --> 00:10:17,833 Jesus rose from death, 209 00:10:17,875 --> 00:10:23,417 and he evidenced this for 40 days. 210 00:10:23,500 --> 00:10:25,500 It was obvious to all. 211 00:10:25,583 --> 00:10:28,208 It's why his tomb was never enshrined. 212 00:10:28,292 --> 00:10:31,000 People would enshrine a tomb to go visit someone they loved 213 00:10:31,083 --> 00:10:32,708 or memorialized. 214 00:10:32,792 --> 00:10:34,833 People don't go to Jesus' tomb, why? 215 00:10:34,875 --> 00:10:36,500 He's not there. 216 00:10:36,583 --> 00:10:38,000 He's not there. 217 00:10:38,083 --> 00:10:41,000 And then after 40 days, he's going to tell us what happened. 218 00:10:41,083 --> 00:10:44,208 Now, before we get into that, let me tell you a little bit 219 00:10:44,292 --> 00:10:45,625 about our author. 220 00:10:45,667 --> 00:10:47,125 Who knows the author of Acts? 221 00:10:47,167 --> 00:10:49,125 I just told you a little while ago. 222 00:10:49,167 --> 00:10:50,500 Were you paying attention? 223 00:10:50,583 --> 00:10:52,708 Come on, this'll be on the test. Come on. 224 00:10:52,792 --> 00:10:55,917 Luke. Luke. Luke was a physician. 225 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,417 He was a doctor. 226 00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:01,000 It says in Colossians 4 that he was Dr. Luke. 227 00:11:01,042 --> 00:11:05,292 How many of you have heard that Christianity is for poor people 228 00:11:05,333 --> 00:11:08,083 and it was led by uneducated people? 229 00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:10,000 How many of you have heard that? 230 00:11:10,042 --> 00:11:12,167 That's not entirely true. 231 00:11:12,250 --> 00:11:15,042 Luke is a more affluent person. 232 00:11:15,125 --> 00:11:16,458 I don't know about you, 233 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:20,667 I don't know a lot of really poor doctors, right? 234 00:11:20,708 --> 00:11:23,875 A poor doctor's still doing better than most of us, right? 235 00:11:23,958 --> 00:11:26,542 So, he was not poor, he was more affluent. 236 00:11:26,625 --> 00:11:30,375 And he was not uneducated; he was very well educated. 237 00:11:30,458 --> 00:11:32,875 He originally wrote Luke and Acts in Greek, 238 00:11:32,958 --> 00:11:35,667 and those who are scholars would say that he indicates 239 00:11:35,708 --> 00:11:39,083 a very high intellect and a very competent education. 240 00:11:39,167 --> 00:11:42,833 He writes as one who's been very formally trained. 241 00:11:42,917 --> 00:11:46,000 He's a very articulate man. 242 00:11:46,042 --> 00:11:48,792 There were some leaders in the early church who were poor, 243 00:11:48,833 --> 00:11:50,292 and some were rich. 244 00:11:50,333 --> 00:11:53,167 Some were uneducated, and some were well educated-- 245 00:11:53,250 --> 00:11:55,458 because Jesus is for what people? 246 00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:59,875 All people. All people. All people. 247 00:11:59,958 --> 00:12:02,667 And Dr. Luke, he is an amazing man. 248 00:12:02,708 --> 00:12:05,792 He was not an eye witness to the life, death, burial, 249 00:12:05,833 --> 00:12:07,750 resurrection of Jesus. 250 00:12:07,833 --> 00:12:11,500 He was more like an investigative reporter. 251 00:12:11,542 --> 00:12:14,458 He was more like a historian. 252 00:12:14,500 --> 00:12:17,458 He was like an Indiana Jones type, OK? 253 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:21,083 For those of you who are as old as me, you know what that means. 254 00:12:21,167 --> 00:12:23,083 The rest of you can Google it. 255 00:12:23,167 --> 00:12:26,458 He was a guy who would--he would go out, and he would investigate. 256 00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:30,083 So, he would go talk to those who knew Jesus, 257 00:12:30,167 --> 00:12:32,000 kids who grew up with him, 258 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:34,000 family members who were still alive. 259 00:12:34,042 --> 00:12:36,167 He would go to the places that Paul preached 260 00:12:36,250 --> 00:12:37,667 and that Peter preached 261 00:12:37,708 --> 00:12:39,167 and where churches were assembled, 262 00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:41,583 and he would do the work of an investigative reporter: 263 00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:43,375 he would talk to the eye witnesses, 264 00:12:43,458 --> 00:12:45,750 he would gather the oral tradition, 265 00:12:45,833 --> 00:12:48,000 he would look at any evidence that was there, 266 00:12:48,042 --> 00:12:53,167 and he was trying to collect and amass the story of Jesus 267 00:12:53,208 --> 00:12:56,875 in the book of Luke and Jesus' people in the book of Acts. 268 00:12:56,958 --> 00:12:58,833 I'll tell you a couple things about him. 269 00:12:58,875 --> 00:13:00,542 He probably was not Jewish. 270 00:13:00,625 --> 00:13:03,167 He's only mentioned three times in the New Testament. 271 00:13:03,208 --> 00:13:05,792 He was very close friends with Paul. 272 00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:08,667 As we read together the book of Acts, 273 00:13:08,750 --> 00:13:11,375 you're going to see certain passages where Paul says, 274 00:13:11,458 --> 00:13:15,083 "We went here, and we did this, and we did that," 275 00:13:15,167 --> 00:13:17,375 and you wonder, "Well, I know who Paul is. 276 00:13:17,458 --> 00:13:19,042 Who's Mr. We?" 277 00:13:19,125 --> 00:13:21,167 Mr. We would be Dr. Luke. 278 00:13:21,250 --> 00:13:24,375 Dr. Luke is the traveling companion of Paul. 279 00:13:24,458 --> 00:13:26,083 They worked together. 280 00:13:26,167 --> 00:13:27,667 He's friends with Paul. 281 00:13:27,750 --> 00:13:30,083 I think that he may have actually also been 282 00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:32,458 Paul's personal physician. 283 00:13:32,500 --> 00:13:34,875 As Paul's getting beaten, shipwrecked, homeless, 284 00:13:34,958 --> 00:13:37,000 imprisoned, a doctor would help, amen? 285 00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:39,042 And he's got with him Dr. Luke. 286 00:13:39,125 --> 00:13:41,875 That's his cut man in his corner to help him out 287 00:13:41,958 --> 00:13:43,875 for his gospel ministry. 288 00:13:43,958 --> 00:13:46,958 He goes and takes a seat, gets all stitched up by Luke, 289 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,333 back to preaching. 290 00:13:48,417 --> 00:13:50,000 These two guys worked together. 291 00:13:50,042 --> 00:13:52,083 They worked together as friends. 292 00:13:52,167 --> 00:13:55,167 And so, he's there traveling with Paul, and he's seeing 293 00:13:55,250 --> 00:13:57,792 what's happening, and he's recording what's happening. 294 00:13:57,833 --> 00:14:00,250 He is the investigative reporter, 295 00:14:00,333 --> 00:14:02,833 who's doing the work of going back to look at 296 00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:06,000 what Jesus did, and also an eye witness, recording 297 00:14:06,042 --> 00:14:07,875 what's happening through the Holy Spirit 298 00:14:07,958 --> 00:14:10,292 with leaders like Paul. 299 00:14:10,333 --> 00:14:13,250 Now, Luke and Acts, these are two book of the New Testament, 300 00:14:13,333 --> 00:14:15,167 but together they constitute 301 00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:17,167 the majority of the New Testament. 302 00:14:17,250 --> 00:14:20,000 Just by sheer length, Luke writes the majority 303 00:14:20,042 --> 00:14:21,667 of the New Testament. 304 00:14:21,750 --> 00:14:24,792 The largest number of books in the New Testament is written by 305 00:14:24,833 --> 00:14:27,000 Paul, who, again, is a friend of Luke. 306 00:14:27,042 --> 00:14:31,792 And so, Luke is involved in, to some degree, the vast majority-- 307 00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:35,458 almost the entirety-- of the New Testament. 308 00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:38,333 And he stayed faithful to Jesus. 309 00:14:38,417 --> 00:14:42,792 There is a record of him outside of the Bible in church history, 310 00:14:42,833 --> 00:14:44,583 and here's what it says. 311 00:14:44,667 --> 00:14:47,333 It's written about 100 years after he lived. 312 00:14:47,417 --> 00:14:51,167 It says, "Indeed, Luke was an Antiochian Syrian, 313 00:14:51,208 --> 00:14:54,458 "a doctor by profession, a disciple of the apostles. 314 00:14:54,500 --> 00:14:57,667 Later, however, he followed Paul until his martyrdom." 315 00:14:57,750 --> 00:15:02,667 So, Luke died for Jesus, "serving the Lord blamelessly. 316 00:15:02,708 --> 00:15:04,792 "Faithful, godly man. 317 00:15:04,833 --> 00:15:07,500 "He never had a wife, he never fathered children, 318 00:15:07,542 --> 00:15:12,375 and he died at the age of 84, full of the Holy Spirit." 319 00:15:12,458 --> 00:15:16,792 Man, that we would all have that last line on our gravestone. 320 00:15:16,833 --> 00:15:20,750 "They died full of the Holy Spirit." 321 00:15:20,833 --> 00:15:24,750 I've been to the place where it is presumed that he is buried. 322 00:15:24,833 --> 00:15:27,292 This man actually lived 323 00:15:27,333 --> 00:15:29,833 and what he records are historical events. 324 00:15:29,917 --> 00:15:32,167 I need you to get this. 325 00:15:32,250 --> 00:15:37,000 Christianity is about history; it's not about philosophy. 326 00:15:37,042 --> 00:15:39,792 There are certain religious systems, like Buddhism, 327 00:15:39,833 --> 00:15:41,833 that are not based on a founder 328 00:15:41,917 --> 00:15:43,750 but a system of ideas. 329 00:15:43,833 --> 00:15:46,292 There are other religions that are based on a place-- 330 00:15:46,333 --> 00:15:49,083 a holy location that we have to travel to. 331 00:15:49,167 --> 00:15:52,042 The center of Christianity is not a philosophy. 332 00:15:52,125 --> 00:15:54,375 The center of Christianity is not a place. 333 00:15:54,458 --> 00:15:56,583 The center of Christianity is a person. 334 00:15:56,667 --> 00:16:00,333 His name is Jesus. 335 00:16:00,417 --> 00:16:03,667 So, we don't adhere to a philosophical system. 336 00:16:03,708 --> 00:16:07,500 We don't travel to a sacred place. 337 00:16:07,542 --> 00:16:11,583 Instead, we get to know a living person named Jesus. 338 00:16:11,667 --> 00:16:13,458 That's his big idea. 339 00:16:13,500 --> 00:16:16,667 If you take Jesus out, Christianity ceases to exist. 340 00:16:16,750 --> 00:16:19,667 If Jesus is dead, then Christianity is dead. 341 00:16:19,708 --> 00:16:24,042 If Jesus is alive, that explains why Christianity is alive. 342 00:16:24,125 --> 00:16:27,000 Because ultimately, it's all about Jesus. 343 00:16:27,042 --> 00:16:30,542 And the center of the Christian faith is the living, ruling, 344 00:16:30,625 --> 00:16:33,167 reigning, resurrected King of kings, 345 00:16:33,250 --> 00:16:36,167 Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. 346 00:16:36,250 --> 00:16:39,292 And that's what Luke records for us in his Gospel of Luke, 347 00:16:39,333 --> 00:16:41,250 looking at the life of Jesus. 348 00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:43,458 And then he continues in the book of Acts, 349 00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:47,375 showing the implications of the resurrection of Jesus 350 00:16:47,458 --> 00:16:52,292 and what the living Jesus does to and through his people. 351 00:16:52,333 --> 00:16:55,333 So, he begins by telling us about Jesus' life, 352 00:16:55,417 --> 00:16:59,083 and then he transitions to tell us about Jesus' power. 353 00:16:59,167 --> 00:17:01,667 Acts 1:4-5, "And while 354 00:17:01,708 --> 00:17:04,083 staying with them he ordered them"--this is Jesus-- 355 00:17:04,167 --> 00:17:06,250 "not to depart from Jerusalem"--where they were 356 00:17:06,333 --> 00:17:08,667 and the temple was located at that time-- 357 00:17:08,750 --> 00:17:13,375 "but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, 358 00:17:13,458 --> 00:17:15,875 "'you heard from me; for John baptized with water, 359 00:17:15,958 --> 00:17:19,875 "'but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit 360 00:17:19,958 --> 00:17:22,000 not many days from now.'" 361 00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:25,333 And then down in Acts 1:8, he was very clear. 362 00:17:25,417 --> 00:17:28,875 He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit 363 00:17:28,958 --> 00:17:31,500 has come upon you." 364 00:17:31,542 --> 00:17:37,083 Jesus' life and his power is not just to be admired; 365 00:17:37,167 --> 00:17:41,167 it's also to be experienced. 366 00:17:41,250 --> 00:17:44,667 A non-Christian can look at Jesus' life and Jesus' power 367 00:17:44,708 --> 00:17:47,167 and admire it. 368 00:17:47,250 --> 00:17:50,792 Only a Christian can look at Jesus' life and Jesus' power 369 00:17:50,833 --> 00:17:53,292 and experience it. 370 00:17:53,333 --> 00:17:56,000 How many of you have looked at Jesus' life and thought, 371 00:17:56,042 --> 00:17:58,250 "That's an amazing life. 372 00:17:58,333 --> 00:18:02,042 That's an amazing life." 373 00:18:02,125 --> 00:18:05,000 He said no to sin; he said yes to God. 374 00:18:05,042 --> 00:18:07,542 He never took advantage of everyone--of anyone. 375 00:18:07,625 --> 00:18:09,667 He never stole anything. 376 00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:15,083 He never was inappropriate with any woman as a single man 377 00:18:15,167 --> 00:18:18,292 in his 30s. 378 00:18:18,333 --> 00:18:19,958 He was always generous. 379 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,542 He always told the truth. 380 00:18:21,625 --> 00:18:22,958 He suffered nobly. 381 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,667 How many of you have looked at the life of Jesus 382 00:18:25,750 --> 00:18:27,167 and admired it? 383 00:18:27,250 --> 00:18:28,875 OK, that's good, but that's not enough. 384 00:18:28,958 --> 00:18:31,167 Jesus doesn't want you to just admire his life, 385 00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:37,000 he wants you to experience his life through the person, 386 00:18:37,042 --> 00:18:39,375 the presence, the power of the third member 387 00:18:39,458 --> 00:18:42,292 of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit. 388 00:18:42,333 --> 00:18:45,375 So, after Jesus rises from death, everybody's excited. 389 00:18:45,458 --> 00:18:48,042 "What do we do now? What do we do now?" 390 00:18:48,125 --> 00:18:52,042 Wait, because the Christian life cannot be lived apart 391 00:18:52,125 --> 00:18:55,542 from Christ's power. 392 00:18:55,625 --> 00:18:59,083 Jesus is not just an example for us; 393 00:18:59,167 --> 00:19:03,750 he's one who empowers us to follow in his example. 394 00:19:03,833 --> 00:19:05,292 You get that? 395 00:19:05,333 --> 00:19:06,875 Let me explain this to you. 396 00:19:06,958 --> 00:19:11,083 He talked about, "in his former book," right? 397 00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:13,667 We just read that in Acts 1:1-- 398 00:19:13,750 --> 00:19:15,083 "in my former book." 399 00:19:15,167 --> 00:19:18,375 So, what tends to happen is-- and how many of you are from-- 400 00:19:18,458 --> 00:19:20,292 some of you won't know what this means; 401 00:19:20,333 --> 00:19:21,667 just hang in there. 402 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:23,167 How many of you are from 403 00:19:23,250 --> 00:19:24,583 Pentecostal, Charismatic backgrounds? 404 00:19:24,667 --> 00:19:27,083 All right, raise your hand. I know you want to. 405 00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:28,750 That's what you do, right, OK? 406 00:19:28,833 --> 00:19:30,292 "Yay!" 407 00:19:30,333 --> 00:19:31,667 Both hands, right, OK? 408 00:19:31,750 --> 00:19:34,958 Charismatic, Pentecostal, OK, raise your hands, right? 409 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,875 And what tends to happen is when you go to a Charismatic 410 00:19:37,958 --> 00:19:40,375 or a Pentecostal church, they're gonna talk a lot about 411 00:19:40,458 --> 00:19:42,875 the Holy Spirit, and they'll usually start right around 412 00:19:42,958 --> 00:19:44,583 the book of Acts. 413 00:19:44,667 --> 00:19:47,083 And they'll say, "Oh see, Jesus says we're gonna get 414 00:19:47,167 --> 00:19:48,500 the Holy Spirit." 415 00:19:48,542 --> 00:19:51,250 And then you go a little bit forward--we're gonna get there 416 00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:52,667 in the next few weeks-- 417 00:19:52,708 --> 00:19:54,375 the Holy Spirit drops on God's people, 418 00:19:54,458 --> 00:19:55,875 they're filled with the Holy Spirit, 419 00:19:55,958 --> 00:19:58,042 and then everybody starts talking about the Holy Spirit. 420 00:19:58,125 --> 00:20:00,542 Luke just told us--where should we start our study? 421 00:20:00,625 --> 00:20:04,083 "In his former book." 422 00:20:04,167 --> 00:20:07,208 If you want to understand the person of the Holy Spirit, 423 00:20:07,292 --> 00:20:10,375 you don't start in Acts; you start in Luke, 424 00:20:10,458 --> 00:20:12,000 which sets up Acts. 425 00:20:12,042 --> 00:20:14,625 They're actually one book in two parts, 426 00:20:14,667 --> 00:20:17,625 and Luke starts in Acts by saying, 427 00:20:17,667 --> 00:20:20,500 "Don't forget my former book. These go together. 428 00:20:20,583 --> 00:20:26,125 Read that one first. Get this all in order." 429 00:20:26,167 --> 00:20:29,500 So, let's follow Luke's instruction. 430 00:20:29,583 --> 00:20:33,917 He tells us--Jesus does-- "You will receive"--what? 431 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:35,917 "Power." 432 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,500 There was a Swedish chemist many years ago. 433 00:20:38,583 --> 00:20:45,417 He was working, and he discovered a very powerful substance. 434 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:48,083 And so, he had to call it something because he had 435 00:20:48,167 --> 00:20:49,708 discovered it. 436 00:20:49,792 --> 00:20:52,500 He called a friend of his who was a Greek scholar. 437 00:20:52,542 --> 00:20:55,000 I don't know if they were a Christian or not. 438 00:20:55,042 --> 00:20:57,000 They may have been a New Testament scholar 439 00:20:57,042 --> 00:20:58,375 for all I know. 440 00:20:58,458 --> 00:21:00,833 And he asked, "What's the Greek word for 'power'?" 441 00:21:00,917 --> 00:21:03,500 It's the same word here. 442 00:21:03,542 --> 00:21:05,667 It's "dunamis." 443 00:21:05,708 --> 00:21:07,167 What is that? 444 00:21:07,208 --> 00:21:09,167 It's dynamite. 445 00:21:09,250 --> 00:21:13,083 Our word "dynamite," it comes from the biblical word for 446 00:21:13,167 --> 00:21:15,833 "Holy Spirit." 447 00:21:15,917 --> 00:21:19,875 All right, when he shows up, boom! Stuff happens, right? 448 00:21:19,958 --> 00:21:22,875 You don't have to ask, "Was there dynamite there? 449 00:21:22,958 --> 00:21:24,500 I couldn't tell." 450 00:21:24,542 --> 00:21:26,958 No, you know right? You know, right? 451 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,833 Let's say it was a fire cracker. 452 00:21:29,917 --> 00:21:31,667 You're like, "Mmm, yeah, that--" Boom! 453 00:21:31,750 --> 00:21:34,792 "OK, that, that was dynamite over there." 454 00:21:34,833 --> 00:21:39,583 When the Holy Spirit shows up, you know it. 455 00:21:39,667 --> 00:21:43,667 There's power. Things happen. 456 00:21:43,708 --> 00:21:48,792 Things change. 457 00:21:48,833 --> 00:21:54,167 The Christian life is about that kind of power, 458 00:21:54,250 --> 00:21:59,083 that kind of supernatural God-given power. 459 00:21:59,167 --> 00:22:04,000 But you need to be careful with this, because apart from Jesus, 460 00:22:04,042 --> 00:22:05,833 we could misunderstand this power. 461 00:22:05,917 --> 00:22:09,167 We could misuse this power. 462 00:22:09,250 --> 00:22:12,667 So, we go back to his former book and we ask, not first, 463 00:22:12,708 --> 00:22:16,833 "How should we use this power of the Holy Spirit?" 464 00:22:16,917 --> 00:22:21,167 but first ask, "How did Jesus use this power from 465 00:22:21,250 --> 00:22:23,583 the Holy Spirit?" 466 00:22:23,667 --> 00:22:26,667 One of the things I love about Luke's Gospel is that it is 467 00:22:26,750 --> 00:22:30,833 the Gospel that explains in the richest detail 468 00:22:30,917 --> 00:22:33,042 the relationship between 469 00:22:33,125 --> 00:22:36,250 God the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ. 470 00:22:36,333 --> 00:22:39,500 OK, if you're new, we believe in one God, three persons-- 471 00:22:39,542 --> 00:22:42,167 Father, Son, and Spirit. 472 00:22:42,208 --> 00:22:43,667 It's called the Trinity. 473 00:22:43,750 --> 00:22:45,792 It's what all Christians believe. 474 00:22:45,833 --> 00:22:49,542 Within this, the second member of the Trinity comes into 475 00:22:49,625 --> 00:22:54,750 human history as the God-man Jesus Christ. 476 00:22:54,833 --> 00:22:59,375 And he lives a perfect life-- 477 00:22:59,458 --> 00:23:03,250 no sin of any sort or kind. 478 00:23:03,333 --> 00:23:05,167 The question is, how did he do that? 479 00:23:05,250 --> 00:23:07,958 How many have looked at the life of Jesus and said, 480 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,458 "Well, of course he didn't sin. 481 00:23:09,500 --> 00:23:11,458 He's God." 482 00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:13,667 It kind of looks like he's cheating, right? 483 00:23:13,750 --> 00:23:15,542 "Oh, God didn't sin? 484 00:23:15,625 --> 00:23:18,083 "Well, shocking, that is. 485 00:23:18,167 --> 00:23:20,375 "Oh look, God's waterskiing without a boat. 486 00:23:20,458 --> 00:23:24,000 Kind of expected that," right? 487 00:23:24,042 --> 00:23:26,667 "Oh, God took a little boy's Lunchable and fed 488 00:23:26,750 --> 00:23:28,292 a stadium of people. 489 00:23:28,333 --> 00:23:30,500 "Well, that's the stuff that God can do; 490 00:23:30,542 --> 00:23:33,458 "I'm not God, so I don't expect to do 491 00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:36,000 "anything really interesting. 492 00:23:36,042 --> 00:23:38,000 "God said no to temptation, 493 00:23:38,042 --> 00:23:40,500 "God did not tell a lie, 494 00:23:40,542 --> 00:23:46,333 "but that's God; I'm not God, so I have very little expectation 495 00:23:46,417 --> 00:23:51,000 for any explosive power of change in my life." 496 00:23:51,042 --> 00:23:54,792 Let me tell you this about Jesus: he never cheated. 497 00:23:54,833 --> 00:23:56,792 This is very important. 498 00:23:56,833 --> 00:23:59,500 How many of you, you watch the old Superman episodes 499 00:23:59,542 --> 00:24:01,750 and you're like, "I know it's not Clark Kent. 500 00:24:01,833 --> 00:24:03,167 I know it's not." 501 00:24:03,208 --> 00:24:06,083 Again, you kids can Google it. But-- 502 00:24:06,167 --> 00:24:09,583 Because he looked like Clark Kent, but underneath, 503 00:24:09,667 --> 00:24:11,500 who was he? 504 00:24:11,542 --> 00:24:13,083 Superman. 505 00:24:13,167 --> 00:24:18,458 He had the big "S" on his unitard. 506 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,333 He did, right? 507 00:24:21,417 --> 00:24:22,750 One person likes that; 508 00:24:22,833 --> 00:24:25,250 the rest of us are throwing up in our mouth. 509 00:24:25,333 --> 00:24:27,458 Anyways, he had the big "S" on his chest, 510 00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:29,542 which meant when someone was against him, 511 00:24:29,625 --> 00:24:31,167 they really weren't against Clark Kent; 512 00:24:31,208 --> 00:24:34,292 they were really against Superman. 513 00:24:34,333 --> 00:24:36,792 Some people have that perspective of Jesus. 514 00:24:36,833 --> 00:24:40,000 "Oh, he looks like a mild, humble, Galilean, 515 00:24:40,042 --> 00:24:43,667 "peasant carpenter, but underneath, he's really Savior, 516 00:24:43,750 --> 00:24:46,667 "he's Lord. 517 00:24:46,708 --> 00:24:50,000 "So, when he's tempted, he's not really tempted. 518 00:24:50,042 --> 00:24:51,875 "When he's hurting, he's not really hurting. 519 00:24:51,958 --> 00:24:54,667 "When he's suffering, he's not really suffering. 520 00:24:54,750 --> 00:24:57,000 He's cheating." 521 00:24:57,042 --> 00:24:58,542 Did Jesus cheat? 522 00:24:58,625 --> 00:25:01,167 No. 523 00:25:01,208 --> 00:25:06,542 While on the earth, Jesus remained fully God 524 00:25:06,625 --> 00:25:11,167 and had full access to all of his divine attributes, 525 00:25:11,250 --> 00:25:16,167 but he did not avail himself to the continual use of those 526 00:25:16,250 --> 00:25:17,667 divine attributes. 527 00:25:17,708 --> 00:25:19,750 He didn't cheat. 528 00:25:19,833 --> 00:25:22,667 When it says in Luke 2 that he grew in wisdom, stature, 529 00:25:22,750 --> 00:25:26,500 and favor with men and God, it means that he actually had 530 00:25:26,542 --> 00:25:29,583 to memorize Scripture like we have to memorize Scripture. 531 00:25:29,667 --> 00:25:31,667 He didn't just get to go, 532 00:25:31,750 --> 00:25:35,500 "Oh, I know it because I wrote it," right? 533 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:39,250 He had to memorize it like we do. 534 00:25:39,333 --> 00:25:42,000 It means that as Jesus was preaching and teaching, 535 00:25:42,042 --> 00:25:45,500 he had to learn how to use his abilities like we 536 00:25:45,542 --> 00:25:51,167 would have to learn to use our abilities. 537 00:25:51,250 --> 00:25:54,458 It means when he was tempted, 538 00:25:54,500 --> 00:26:01,000 he did not lean into his divinity to cheat, 539 00:26:01,083 --> 00:26:04,083 he lived out of his humanity, and he was tempted, 540 00:26:04,167 --> 00:26:06,250 the Bible says, in every way as we are, 541 00:26:06,333 --> 00:26:08,667 yet without sin. 542 00:26:08,750 --> 00:26:11,667 What this means is that Jesus could have leaned into 543 00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:15,083 his divinity, he could have leaned into his deity. 544 00:26:15,167 --> 00:26:17,750 All right, he's one person, two natures, fully God, 545 00:26:17,833 --> 00:26:22,792 fully man--but he didn't cheat. 546 00:26:22,833 --> 00:26:25,958 As I read the Bible, the only time I see Jesus leaning into 547 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:30,083 his divinity, into his deity, is never for his own benefit 548 00:26:30,167 --> 00:26:32,542 but for the benefit of others. 549 00:26:32,625 --> 00:26:34,583 So, when someone needs their sin forgiven, 550 00:26:34,667 --> 00:26:39,083 he forgives them as God, but that's for their benefit. 551 00:26:39,167 --> 00:26:41,667 Any time that he is being tempted, 552 00:26:41,708 --> 00:26:43,583 any time that he is being tested, 553 00:26:43,667 --> 00:26:45,542 any time that he is being opposed, 554 00:26:45,625 --> 00:26:48,500 he doesn't lean into his divinity, his deity. 555 00:26:48,542 --> 00:26:51,875 He lives out of his humanity. 556 00:26:51,958 --> 00:26:54,500 Jesus gets hungry like we get hungry. 557 00:26:54,542 --> 00:26:56,667 Jesus gets tempted like we get tempted. 558 00:26:56,750 --> 00:26:59,667 Jesus gets exhausted like we get exhausted. 559 00:26:59,750 --> 00:27:02,208 Jesus has to learn like we have to learn. 560 00:27:02,292 --> 00:27:05,500 Jesus has to labor like we have to labor. 561 00:27:05,542 --> 00:27:07,667 So, Mars Hill, how did he do it? 562 00:27:07,708 --> 00:27:12,083 If he didn't cheat and lean into his divinity, how did he do it? 563 00:27:12,167 --> 00:27:14,583 How did he do it? 564 00:27:14,667 --> 00:27:20,667 By the power of the Holy Spirit. 565 00:27:20,708 --> 00:27:23,458 By the power of the Holy Spirit. 566 00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:26,667 So, Jesus shows us what it's like to live a perfect, 567 00:27:26,708 --> 00:27:31,083 Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered, Spirit-led life. 568 00:27:31,167 --> 00:27:34,083 Now, some of you didn't grow up in Charismatic and Pentecostal 569 00:27:34,167 --> 00:27:36,500 homes, and when I start talking about the Holy Spirit, 570 00:27:36,542 --> 00:27:38,583 you get a nervous eye twitch, OK? 571 00:27:38,667 --> 00:27:40,500 You're like, "I've heard about those churches. 572 00:27:40,542 --> 00:27:42,292 "It's where they collect seven offerings 573 00:27:42,333 --> 00:27:44,000 "and the pastor wears a white suit, 574 00:27:44,042 --> 00:27:46,667 "and his wife looks like she lost a paintball gun war, 575 00:27:46,750 --> 00:27:48,167 "and people run around with flags. 576 00:27:48,250 --> 00:27:52,875 You're freaking me out," right? 577 00:27:52,958 --> 00:27:57,833 Hey, I'm just telling you what happens, right? 578 00:27:57,917 --> 00:28:00,667 And you get a little--you're like, "Oh man"--as soon as 579 00:28:00,708 --> 00:28:04,083 they hear "Holy Spirit," it's like happy hour, right? 580 00:28:04,167 --> 00:28:06,083 Everybody gets a little loopy, 581 00:28:06,167 --> 00:28:09,083 and things get a little out of control. 582 00:28:09,167 --> 00:28:13,375 The key is, you cannot understand the power of the Holy Spirit 583 00:28:13,458 --> 00:28:16,042 apart from the life of Jesus. 584 00:28:16,125 --> 00:28:18,667 There's no example of what it means to live 585 00:28:18,750 --> 00:28:23,667 a Spirit-empowered life unless we look at the life of Jesus. 586 00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:26,000 And so, that's what Luke is telling us. 587 00:28:26,042 --> 00:28:29,083 He says, OK, Jesus lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. 588 00:28:29,167 --> 00:28:31,667 He lives without sin, he dies for our sin, 589 00:28:31,750 --> 00:28:34,583 he rises for our sin, he evidences it for 40 days, 590 00:28:34,667 --> 00:28:37,375 and he tells his people, "Don't go do ministry yet. 591 00:28:37,458 --> 00:28:41,500 "Wait. You need power. The Holy Spirit's coming 592 00:28:41,542 --> 00:28:47,375 to cause you to be like me." 593 00:28:47,458 --> 00:28:50,000 That's why the former book and the latter book, 594 00:28:50,042 --> 00:28:51,792 they go together. 595 00:28:51,833 --> 00:28:55,167 So, in the book of Luke, I've got some notes for you. 596 00:28:55,208 --> 00:28:57,667 The relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit--Jesus 597 00:28:57,750 --> 00:29:01,333 was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit 598 00:29:01,417 --> 00:29:03,458 in his mother, Mary. 599 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:08,042 Jesus' conception, his entrance into human history as a man, 600 00:29:08,125 --> 00:29:10,292 was by the power of the Holy Spirit. 601 00:29:10,333 --> 00:29:12,667 Number two, at Jesus' baptism, 602 00:29:12,750 --> 00:29:14,542 God the Father speaks from heaven. 603 00:29:14,625 --> 00:29:15,958 The whole Trinity is there. 604 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,375 "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased." 605 00:29:18,458 --> 00:29:21,333 Here's Jesus, the Son of God, the second member of the Trinity 606 00:29:21,375 --> 00:29:22,833 coming up out of the water. 607 00:29:22,875 --> 00:29:24,208 Who descends on Jesus? 608 00:29:24,292 --> 00:29:26,375 The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. 609 00:29:26,458 --> 00:29:30,542 This is to show publicly that Jesus is anointed by 610 00:29:30,625 --> 00:29:33,292 the Holy Spirit, that he's indwelt by the Holy Spirit, 611 00:29:33,333 --> 00:29:35,167 that he's filled by the Holy Spirit, 612 00:29:35,250 --> 00:29:37,083 that he's empowered by the Holy Spirit, 613 00:29:37,167 --> 00:29:43,292 that his whole life is by the power of the Holy Spirit. 614 00:29:43,333 --> 00:29:46,167 That's why this was public, so everybody could see it. 615 00:29:46,250 --> 00:29:48,833 See, Jesus already knew it. 616 00:29:48,917 --> 00:29:51,000 This wasn't for Jesus' understanding; 617 00:29:51,042 --> 00:29:53,750 this was for our understanding. 618 00:29:53,833 --> 00:29:57,083 The book of Luke, then, goes on to say that Jesus was, quote, 619 00:29:57,167 --> 00:29:58,833 "full of the Holy Spirit." 620 00:29:58,917 --> 00:30:00,458 How many of you have heard, 621 00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:02,458 "You should live a Spirit-filled life." 622 00:30:02,500 --> 00:30:04,500 That's true. You know what that looks like? 623 00:30:04,583 --> 00:30:06,417 Jesus. 624 00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:07,833 Jesus. 625 00:30:07,875 --> 00:30:10,125 Any time we lift someone else up and say, 626 00:30:10,167 --> 00:30:12,500 "Well, there's the Spirit-filled person, be like them," 627 00:30:12,583 --> 00:30:14,667 wrong person. 628 00:30:14,750 --> 00:30:17,375 None of us sinners are perfectly, 629 00:30:17,458 --> 00:30:20,417 continually full of the Holy Spirit. 630 00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:24,208 We grieve, we quench, we resist the Holy Spirit at times. 631 00:30:24,292 --> 00:30:27,417 But Jesus was, quote, "full of the Holy Spirit"-- 632 00:30:27,500 --> 00:30:29,917 continually, perfectly. 633 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,917 Number four, the Gospel of Luke says that he was, quote, 634 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,208 "led by the Spirit." 635 00:30:35,292 --> 00:30:37,708 So, Jesus goes here because that's where the Spirit 636 00:30:37,792 --> 00:30:40,500 is directing him, and then he goes here because that's where 637 00:30:40,583 --> 00:30:43,000 Jesus is being directed by the Holy Spirit. 638 00:30:43,042 --> 00:30:45,125 He teaches these people, he leads these people, 639 00:30:45,167 --> 00:30:48,917 he casts out these demons, he prays over this crowd. Why? 640 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,000 Because he's led by the Holy Spirit. 641 00:30:53,083 --> 00:30:57,125 Number five, we read repeatedly in the Gospel of Luke 642 00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:00,667 that he came, quote, "in the power of the Spirit." 643 00:31:00,750 --> 00:31:02,375 How did he teach? 644 00:31:02,458 --> 00:31:04,333 In the power of the Holy Spirit. 645 00:31:04,417 --> 00:31:06,042 How did he cast out demons? 646 00:31:06,125 --> 00:31:07,875 In the power of the Holy Spirit. 647 00:31:07,958 --> 00:31:10,792 How were those that were blind given sight? 648 00:31:10,833 --> 00:31:14,667 Because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit. 649 00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:21,042 He came with, by, for, through the power of the Holy Spirit. 650 00:31:22,208 --> 00:31:27,292 See, ministry has programs, but it does nothing without power. 651 00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:29,750 It also says--number six in the Gospel of Luke--that he, 652 00:31:29,833 --> 00:31:32,667 quote, "rejoiced in the Holy Spirit." 653 00:31:32,708 --> 00:31:35,250 When he had joy, when he celebrated, 654 00:31:35,333 --> 00:31:38,167 it was because the joy of the Lord was his strength. 655 00:31:38,208 --> 00:31:41,583 It was the Holy Spirit in him, causing him to glorify, 656 00:31:41,667 --> 00:31:44,667 to worship, to enjoy, to adore, to thank, 657 00:31:44,750 --> 00:31:47,167 to bless God the Father. 658 00:31:47,250 --> 00:31:50,375 Number seven, it also says repeatedly in the book of Acts 659 00:31:50,458 --> 00:31:53,000 that the hand of the Lord was upon him. 660 00:31:53,042 --> 00:31:55,833 That's language for the Holy Spirit. 661 00:31:55,917 --> 00:31:57,875 It's a metaphor. 662 00:31:57,958 --> 00:31:59,667 All right, God the Father's in heaven, 663 00:31:59,750 --> 00:32:01,333 and God the Son's on earth, 664 00:32:01,417 --> 00:32:04,083 and God the Father puts his hand on God the Son. 665 00:32:04,167 --> 00:32:05,500 He's the One. 666 00:32:05,542 --> 00:32:07,875 In fact, that's what it means to be the Christ. 667 00:32:07,958 --> 00:32:10,083 That means "the anointed one." 668 00:32:10,167 --> 00:32:13,000 "Christ" literally means "the anointed one"-- 669 00:32:13,042 --> 00:32:16,292 the one who the Father has put his hand on and said, 670 00:32:16,333 --> 00:32:18,500 "He's the chosen one. He's the perfect one. 671 00:32:18,542 --> 00:32:21,042 He is the sent one." 672 00:32:21,125 --> 00:32:24,042 Jesus indicates this for us as well. 673 00:32:24,125 --> 00:32:27,042 Number eight, early on in his ministry, 674 00:32:27,125 --> 00:32:31,667 he walks into a synagogue, he opens to the book of Isaiah, 675 00:32:31,708 --> 00:32:34,583 Isaiah 61:1-2, and he reads it. 676 00:32:34,667 --> 00:32:37,083 Do you remember what he reads? 677 00:32:37,167 --> 00:32:42,500 He reads this: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, upon me, 678 00:32:42,542 --> 00:32:47,167 to preach good news and to set captives free." 679 00:32:47,250 --> 00:32:49,958 And then he closed it up, and he said this: 680 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:55,875 "Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 681 00:32:55,958 --> 00:32:59,542 Isaiah wrote 700 years prior and said, 682 00:32:59,625 --> 00:33:03,500 "There's one who is coming, and the Spirit of the Lord 683 00:33:03,542 --> 00:33:06,875 "will reside on him so that he could preach good news 684 00:33:06,958 --> 00:33:12,333 and set captives free from sin and death." And Jesus says, 685 00:33:12,417 --> 00:33:15,750 "I'm here. That's me. 686 00:33:15,833 --> 00:33:18,958 "I'm the One you've all been waiting for, 687 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,167 and the Spirit of the Lord is upon me." 688 00:33:21,208 --> 00:33:24,875 Mars Hill, that's either true or one of the most arrogant 689 00:33:24,958 --> 00:33:31,500 statements ever uttered in the history of the world. 690 00:33:31,542 --> 00:33:34,333 Jesus was led by the Spirit. 691 00:33:34,417 --> 00:33:36,375 He was empowered by the Spirit. 692 00:33:36,458 --> 00:33:38,958 He was filled with the Spirit. 693 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,375 He suffered by the power of the Holy Spirit. 694 00:33:42,458 --> 00:33:45,083 He persevered by the power of the Holy Spirit. 695 00:33:45,167 --> 00:33:48,333 He loved by the power of the Holy Spirit. 696 00:33:48,417 --> 00:33:51,667 He engaged in spiritual conflicts with the demonic realm 697 00:33:51,750 --> 00:33:54,042 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 698 00:33:54,125 --> 00:33:57,875 He prayed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 699 00:33:57,958 --> 00:34:01,667 He trained leaders by the power of the Holy Spirit. 700 00:34:01,708 --> 00:34:04,583 He honored and obeyed his mother and father when he was 701 00:34:04,667 --> 00:34:08,042 a little boy by the power of the Holy Spirit. 702 00:34:08,125 --> 00:34:11,083 He humbly, for the first 30 years of his life, 703 00:34:11,167 --> 00:34:16,375 went to a job as a carpenter, humbly serving, 704 00:34:16,458 --> 00:34:20,875 obscurely serving in a small town, 705 00:34:20,958 --> 00:34:27,292 in a poor family by the power of the Holy Spirit. 706 00:34:27,333 --> 00:34:33,083 He died still filled and led by the Holy Spirit. 707 00:34:33,167 --> 00:34:37,792 So hear this: to be Spirit-filled is not to avoid 708 00:34:37,833 --> 00:34:41,875 suffering but to suffer well. 709 00:34:41,958 --> 00:34:46,333 Sometimes the Holy Spirit will not get you around suffering; 710 00:34:46,417 --> 00:34:48,167 he'll get you through suffering. 711 00:34:48,250 --> 00:34:51,250 That was the case with Jesus. And Jesus, 712 00:34:51,333 --> 00:34:53,583 we read elsewhere in the New Testament, 713 00:34:53,667 --> 00:34:57,792 he was raised from death by the power of the Holy Spirit. 714 00:34:57,833 --> 00:35:00,542 And in that same section, it goes on to say, 715 00:35:00,625 --> 00:35:03,250 "And that same power that raised Christ from the dead lives"-- 716 00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:04,792 where? 717 00:35:04,833 --> 00:35:06,792 Lives in you, the Christian, 718 00:35:06,833 --> 00:35:09,167 so that we don't just admire Jesus' life; 719 00:35:09,250 --> 00:35:11,375 we experience Jesus' life. 720 00:35:11,458 --> 00:35:13,375 When we look at Jesus, we don't say, 721 00:35:13,458 --> 00:35:15,167 "Well, that's God cheating." 722 00:35:15,208 --> 00:35:18,500 No, that's God humbling himself to live by the power 723 00:35:18,542 --> 00:35:20,042 of the Holy Spirit 724 00:35:20,125 --> 00:35:22,167 and then sending us the Spirit 725 00:35:22,208 --> 00:35:25,042 so that we could live by Jesus' power, 726 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:28,250 so we could follow Jesus' example 727 00:35:28,333 --> 00:35:30,167 by Jesus' power. 728 00:35:30,250 --> 00:35:32,542 You get that? 729 00:35:36,542 --> 00:35:40,875 And all of this, friends, is for mission. 730 00:35:40,958 --> 00:35:44,500 It's not just so that you can be a better person. 731 00:35:44,542 --> 00:35:47,792 This is not modified self-help. 732 00:35:47,833 --> 00:35:51,167 This is not so that you can achieve your potential. 733 00:35:51,208 --> 00:35:54,500 This is not that you could showcase your glory 734 00:35:54,542 --> 00:35:56,500 to the world. 735 00:35:56,542 --> 00:36:00,167 This is not so that you would meet all of your objectives. 736 00:36:00,208 --> 00:36:03,167 This is not so that you would be all you can be 737 00:36:03,208 --> 00:36:05,167 and do all you can do. 738 00:36:05,250 --> 00:36:08,583 This is exclusively for the mission of Jesus. 739 00:36:08,667 --> 00:36:14,667 And we read of this in Acts 1:6-11. 740 00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:18,167 "So when they had come together"--all the believers. 741 00:36:18,208 --> 00:36:21,292 We see a few chapters later it's 120 people. 742 00:36:21,333 --> 00:36:25,167 Christianity, at this point, not a big deal-- 743 00:36:25,250 --> 00:36:27,792 "they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore 744 00:36:27,833 --> 00:36:29,667 "'the kingdom to Israel?' 745 00:36:29,750 --> 00:36:33,167 "He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons 746 00:36:33,250 --> 00:36:35,375 "'that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 747 00:36:35,458 --> 00:36:37,083 But you will receive'"--what? 748 00:36:37,167 --> 00:36:38,875 "Power"--there it is again-- 749 00:36:38,958 --> 00:36:42,500 "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 750 00:36:42,542 --> 00:36:44,958 and you will be my witnesses"-- 751 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,333 there's our mission. 752 00:36:47,417 --> 00:36:49,583 The Holy Spirit comes that we would be witnesses 753 00:36:49,667 --> 00:36:51,667 on Jesus' mission-- 754 00:36:51,708 --> 00:36:54,000 "in Jerusalem"--where they were-- "Judea"--the region-- 755 00:36:54,042 --> 00:36:57,667 "Samaria"--extended area-- "and to the ends of the earth"-- 756 00:36:57,750 --> 00:37:00,667 like Albuquerque and Portland. 757 00:37:00,708 --> 00:37:03,875 All right, he's looking down the road. 758 00:37:03,958 --> 00:37:05,875 The story continues. 759 00:37:05,958 --> 00:37:08,875 "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, 760 00:37:08,958 --> 00:37:12,083 he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." 761 00:37:12,167 --> 00:37:14,792 The presence of God in the Bible is often accompanied with 762 00:37:14,833 --> 00:37:16,292 a cloud. 763 00:37:16,333 --> 00:37:19,000 "And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, 764 00:37:19,042 --> 00:37:21,000 "two men stood by them in white robes, 765 00:37:21,042 --> 00:37:23,583 and said-"--these are angels--"'Men of Galilee, 766 00:37:23,667 --> 00:37:25,458 "'why do you stand looking into heaven? 767 00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:28,375 "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 768 00:37:28,458 --> 00:37:33,167 will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'" 769 00:37:33,250 --> 00:37:37,958 See, this explains to us where is Jesus today. 770 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,333 I had a funny story not long ago. 771 00:37:40,417 --> 00:37:42,583 A guy came up to me, he said, 772 00:37:42,667 --> 00:37:44,167 "OK, so Jesus rose from death?" 773 00:37:44,208 --> 00:37:45,542 I said, "Yeah." 774 00:37:45,625 --> 00:37:47,750 He said, "Where is he? Is he in Israel?" 775 00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:49,167 I was like, "No." 776 00:37:49,208 --> 00:37:51,167 It's a good question. Where is Jesus? 777 00:37:51,208 --> 00:37:54,500 If he conquered death, he never died again, where is he? 778 00:37:54,542 --> 00:37:56,292 Where is he, Mars Hill? 779 00:37:56,333 --> 00:37:58,167 He was taken up. 780 00:37:58,208 --> 00:38:02,250 You ever had a kid that had a balloon? 781 00:38:02,333 --> 00:38:05,583 It wasn't long ago my kids and I went out--we went out to 782 00:38:05,667 --> 00:38:07,583 Burgers, and they gave my kids a balloon. 783 00:38:07,667 --> 00:38:09,792 Invariably, what happens to the balloon as soon as 784 00:38:09,833 --> 00:38:11,167 you leave the restaurant? 785 00:38:11,250 --> 00:38:13,875 All right, sometimes accidentally--and you can tell 786 00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:15,500 because of the nervous breakdown-- 787 00:38:15,542 --> 00:38:19,083 they lose the string, right? 788 00:38:19,167 --> 00:38:21,000 "Ahhh!" 789 00:38:21,042 --> 00:38:24,750 But after a while, it becomes intentional, right? 790 00:38:24,833 --> 00:38:31,167 They're like [peering around], and they let it go. 791 00:38:31,250 --> 00:38:34,875 One of my kids intentionally let their balloon go, right? 792 00:38:34,958 --> 00:38:36,458 I said, "What are you doing?" 793 00:38:36,500 --> 00:38:38,292 They're like, "I want to watch." 794 00:38:38,333 --> 00:38:41,458 So they watch, and I thought, "I wonder if it was like that 795 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:43,375 when Jesus went." 796 00:38:43,458 --> 00:38:46,000 Because they didn't even have balloons at that time, 797 00:38:46,042 --> 00:38:48,250 so they were not expecting this. 798 00:38:48,333 --> 00:38:50,250 They're like, "Wow." 799 00:38:50,333 --> 00:38:52,583 I wonder if one of the guys was like, 800 00:38:52,667 --> 00:38:55,083 "We should have tied a string on him." 801 00:38:55,167 --> 00:38:56,542 You know, like [holding a string]. 802 00:38:56,625 --> 00:38:58,500 I mean, we read it in the Bible. 803 00:38:58,583 --> 00:39:02,042 You're like, "And here is the ascension of our Lord," 804 00:39:02,125 --> 00:39:03,792 but you think about it, you're like, 805 00:39:03,833 --> 00:39:06,292 "That had to be kind of a weird moment," right? 806 00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:09,333 "Hey Jesus, how you—-" [looking up] 807 00:39:10,958 --> 00:39:12,292 Right? 808 00:39:12,333 --> 00:39:14,292 And apparently, they're all standing there looking at 809 00:39:14,333 --> 00:39:16,250 each other for a while, right? 810 00:39:16,333 --> 00:39:21,292 They're like, "Uh, anybody have any suggestions?" 811 00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:23,500 Like, "I don't know, [jump up]. We're not going. 812 00:39:23,542 --> 00:39:26,167 We're not going. What?" 813 00:39:26,250 --> 00:39:29,292 It was an awkward moment, right? 814 00:39:29,333 --> 00:39:31,583 Apparently, they're there long enough just like, 815 00:39:31,667 --> 00:39:35,583 "Wha—-what do we do now?" 816 00:39:35,667 --> 00:39:38,667 The two angels show up, dudes in white. 817 00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:42,458 "Men of Galilee, hey, what are you doing? 818 00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:48,250 He'll come back, but it's going to be a while," all right? 819 00:39:48,333 --> 00:39:51,375 And he tells them, "Here's what I need you to do. 820 00:39:51,458 --> 00:39:54,083 Here's what Jesus told you to do." 821 00:39:54,167 --> 00:39:58,250 And I don't know how to explain this. 822 00:39:58,333 --> 00:40:02,250 Jesus not only went up to a physical place, 823 00:40:02,333 --> 00:40:06,583 he then entered into another dimension, all right? 824 00:40:06,667 --> 00:40:09,417 He entered into--and some of you say, "I don't understand this." 825 00:40:09,500 --> 00:40:11,708 Hey, ask a guy who watches Star Trek. 826 00:40:11,792 --> 00:40:13,375 Maybe he'll help. 827 00:40:13,458 --> 00:40:16,500 I can't fully explain this, OK? 828 00:40:16,583 --> 00:40:19,667 Now we're into the supernatural, now we're into the miraculous, 829 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:23,708 now we're into another dimension. 830 00:40:23,792 --> 00:40:27,667 But Jesus is alive today, and he's a King who ascends 831 00:40:27,750 --> 00:40:31,708 to sit on his throne and rule over all of his creation. 832 00:40:31,792 --> 00:40:36,167 Now, here's the deal: 833 00:40:36,250 --> 00:40:40,625 it's not about your mission. 834 00:40:40,667 --> 00:40:43,792 It's not about my mission. 835 00:40:43,833 --> 00:40:46,500 It's not about our mission. 836 00:40:46,542 --> 00:40:48,917 It's about his mission. 837 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,333 A lot of people have a mission, and they want to use Jesus 838 00:40:52,375 --> 00:40:55,167 for their mission. 839 00:40:55,250 --> 00:40:59,125 Grow my business, make me healthy, fix my family. 840 00:40:59,167 --> 00:41:04,167 Sometimes this can even be noble causes, noble organizations. 841 00:41:04,250 --> 00:41:07,375 Not necessarily even bad things, maybe even things that Jesus 842 00:41:07,458 --> 00:41:11,375 would approve of. But we've got to be very careful. 843 00:41:11,458 --> 00:41:16,167 We're never allowed to use Jesus for our mission. 844 00:41:16,250 --> 00:41:21,000 It's Jesus' mission, and we're a part of it. 845 00:41:21,042 --> 00:41:23,375 So as a church, you need to know this: 846 00:41:23,458 --> 00:41:26,583 we believe it's a sin to sit down with a whiteboard and ask, 847 00:41:26,667 --> 00:41:29,792 "What's our mission?" 848 00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:32,500 We have no right. 849 00:41:32,542 --> 00:41:35,167 In fact, we're supposed to open the Bible and ask, 850 00:41:35,250 --> 00:41:38,083 "Jesus, what's your mission?" 851 00:41:38,167 --> 00:41:41,500 And then we're supposed to be on his mission. 852 00:41:41,542 --> 00:41:43,750 See, organizations and businesses, 853 00:41:43,833 --> 00:41:45,833 they can sit down and put together their 854 00:41:45,917 --> 00:41:48,167 mission statement. 855 00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:51,375 Jesus is the head of the church. 856 00:41:51,458 --> 00:41:54,167 Every church belongs to him. 857 00:41:54,250 --> 00:41:59,333 Every church has the same mission, and we have no right 858 00:41:59,417 --> 00:42:03,375 to come up with our own mission or to try to use him 859 00:42:03,458 --> 00:42:05,375 for our mission. 860 00:42:05,458 --> 00:42:09,583 In fact, the church doesn't even have a mission. 861 00:42:09,667 --> 00:42:14,958 Jesus does, and the church is a part of his mission. 862 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:19,375 So, our mission is simply to do what Jesus told us to do. 863 00:42:19,458 --> 00:42:21,500 Do you get that? 864 00:42:21,542 --> 00:42:23,958 And he said that we would be his what? 865 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000 His witnesses. 866 00:42:26,042 --> 00:42:27,667 That's the mission. 867 00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:29,583 That's the mission. 868 00:42:29,667 --> 00:42:32,375 So, let me tell you a couple things about Jesus' mission. 869 00:42:32,458 --> 00:42:36,708 Number one, Jesus' mission is under his sovereign rule. 870 00:42:39,208 --> 00:42:40,583 He ascended into heaven. 871 00:42:40,667 --> 00:42:42,292 Right now, he's seated on a throne. 872 00:42:42,333 --> 00:42:46,792 So, Jesus entire mission is under his sovereign rule. 873 00:42:46,833 --> 00:42:50,375 I'm not in charge; Jesus is. 874 00:42:50,458 --> 00:42:53,083 You're not in charge; Jesus is. 875 00:42:53,167 --> 00:42:57,083 The whole mission on earth is under the ruling, resurrected, 876 00:42:57,167 --> 00:43:02,000 reigning Jesus, seated on his throne right now. 877 00:43:02,083 --> 00:43:06,375 Number two, Jesus' mission is the expansion of his kingdom 878 00:43:06,458 --> 00:43:08,292 through the church. 879 00:43:08,333 --> 00:43:10,792 There's no mission apart from church. 880 00:43:10,833 --> 00:43:13,792 You're going to see that coming up in Acts 2 and 3. 881 00:43:13,833 --> 00:43:15,792 He doesn't start a whole bunch of organizations. 882 00:43:15,833 --> 00:43:18,875 He starts one organism called the church, 883 00:43:18,958 --> 00:43:22,333 and Jesus' mission is the expansion of his kingdom. 884 00:43:22,417 --> 00:43:24,583 He says it right here. 885 00:43:24,667 --> 00:43:27,583 "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 886 00:43:27,667 --> 00:43:33,000 will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven." 887 00:43:33,042 --> 00:43:34,958 He's coming back. 888 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,042 Between the time of his ascension and the time of his 889 00:43:38,125 --> 00:43:43,375 Second Coming is the time for our witnessing as the church 890 00:43:43,458 --> 00:43:46,333 for the expansion of his kingdom. 891 00:43:46,417 --> 00:43:48,875 In the Old Testament, it would say this a lot: 892 00:43:48,958 --> 00:43:51,875 "God was seeking a people for his own possession." 893 00:43:51,958 --> 00:43:54,000 In the New Testament, the language is, 894 00:43:54,042 --> 00:43:58,042 "to make disciples"--which are people for his own possession. 895 00:43:58,125 --> 00:44:03,333 The goal is always people meeting Jesus. 896 00:44:03,375 --> 00:44:05,167 That's the goal. 897 00:44:05,250 --> 00:44:09,792 Those who know Jesus to grow to become more like him. 898 00:44:09,833 --> 00:44:11,875 So, we're talking more Christians 899 00:44:11,958 --> 00:44:14,167 and better Christians and more churches 900 00:44:14,208 --> 00:44:15,667 and better churches-- 901 00:44:15,750 --> 00:44:17,667 that's the mission. 902 00:44:17,708 --> 00:44:19,875 That's the mission. 903 00:44:19,958 --> 00:44:21,667 I need you to understand this. 904 00:44:21,750 --> 00:44:25,000 We talk about planting churches and making disciples-- 905 00:44:25,042 --> 00:44:27,500 that's Jesus' mission. 906 00:44:27,542 --> 00:44:31,167 And the more we work together, the more we pray together, 907 00:44:31,208 --> 00:44:36,042 the more we walk in unity and in humility and in generosity 908 00:44:36,125 --> 00:44:39,375 the more disciples are made, the more churches are planted, 909 00:44:39,458 --> 00:44:41,750 the more Jesus' kingdom advances, 910 00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:47,667 the more the Holy Spirit pours out grace and blessing. 911 00:44:47,750 --> 00:44:51,292 The Holy Spirit wants you and I to become like Jesus 912 00:44:51,333 --> 00:44:54,542 and to continue the ministry of Jesus. 913 00:44:54,625 --> 00:44:57,667 He's glad to empower us, he's glad to show up, 914 00:44:57,750 --> 00:45:00,458 he's glad to help-- but not to people who are on 915 00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:03,125 their own mission. 916 00:45:03,167 --> 00:45:07,667 Number three, Jesus' mission is for all nations. 917 00:45:07,708 --> 00:45:10,583 "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth." 918 00:45:10,667 --> 00:45:13,167 And at this point, they couldn't grab a map. 919 00:45:13,250 --> 00:45:14,875 There wasn't a map. 920 00:45:14,958 --> 00:45:17,000 Peter couldn't say, "Hey, grab the globe." 921 00:45:17,042 --> 00:45:18,833 There was no globe. 922 00:45:18,917 --> 00:45:21,167 Most of these guys had never traveled more than 923 00:45:21,250 --> 00:45:25,083 30, 40, 50 miles from their home, and it was on foot. 924 00:45:25,167 --> 00:45:27,292 They don't know what's going on in Uzbekistan. 925 00:45:27,333 --> 00:45:29,500 They've got no clue. 926 00:45:29,542 --> 00:45:32,042 A hundred and twenty of them. And what Jesus says-- 927 00:45:32,125 --> 00:45:35,667 "OK, the earth-- we need to get it." 928 00:45:35,708 --> 00:45:37,792 That's kind of a big ask, right? 929 00:45:37,833 --> 00:45:39,792 That's a big request. 930 00:45:39,833 --> 00:45:42,167 The earth--that's the mission. 931 00:45:42,250 --> 00:45:45,042 "The people on the earth, wherever they live, 932 00:45:45,125 --> 00:45:48,500 "we need to get to them and tell them that I'm alive, 933 00:45:48,542 --> 00:45:50,750 that I'm God and I conquered death." 934 00:45:50,833 --> 00:45:53,000 True or false, those people already have 935 00:45:53,042 --> 00:45:55,083 their own religions? 936 00:45:55,167 --> 00:45:57,083 Do they? 937 00:45:57,167 --> 00:46:00,625 They do. And we're going to go there and tell them that 938 00:46:00,667 --> 00:46:02,958 they're worshiping a false God 939 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:06,542 and that their demonic false God is telling them lies 940 00:46:06,625 --> 00:46:09,542 and it's going to lead to eternal damnation. 941 00:46:09,625 --> 00:46:12,250 See, today, the first thing that would happen was, there 942 00:46:12,333 --> 00:46:14,875 would have been a committee that would have met to ask 943 00:46:14,958 --> 00:46:19,292 whether or not that was hate speech and intolerant. 944 00:46:19,333 --> 00:46:23,250 The most loving thing we can do is tell people about Jesus 945 00:46:23,333 --> 00:46:26,167 and tell them that everything that is contrary to Jesus 946 00:46:26,208 --> 00:46:29,375 is wrong. 947 00:46:29,458 --> 00:46:31,542 So, Mars Hill, how's it going? 948 00:46:31,625 --> 00:46:34,167 I get to share with you some good news today. 949 00:46:34,250 --> 00:46:37,083 Let me show you some things that are going on nationally 950 00:46:37,167 --> 00:46:38,500 and internationally. 951 00:46:38,542 --> 00:46:41,000 And when he says, "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 952 00:46:41,042 --> 00:46:43,750 ends of the earth," what he says is, "Start locally, 953 00:46:43,833 --> 00:46:50,083 move regionally, go nationally, serve globally." 954 00:46:50,167 --> 00:46:52,083 It's like throwing a rock in a pond 955 00:46:52,167 --> 00:46:53,667 and everything rings out. 956 00:46:53,708 --> 00:46:56,250 Mission starts not across the world; 957 00:46:56,333 --> 00:46:59,292 mission starts across the street. 958 00:46:59,333 --> 00:47:01,042 This is where Community Groups 959 00:47:01,125 --> 00:47:03,042 are being sent into neighborhoods, 960 00:47:03,125 --> 00:47:05,375 and then we want to expand and plant churches 961 00:47:05,458 --> 00:47:06,958 throughout regions. 962 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:08,875 We're willing to go anywhere in the nation, 963 00:47:08,958 --> 00:47:10,500 and we're willing to help those 964 00:47:10,542 --> 00:47:12,167 who are planting in other nations-- 965 00:47:12,208 --> 00:47:14,875 "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth." 966 00:47:14,958 --> 00:47:16,667 Sometimes Christians get really excited about 967 00:47:16,750 --> 00:47:20,083 international missions but not about local missions. 968 00:47:20,167 --> 00:47:22,833 They want to reach all those strange people groups 969 00:47:22,917 --> 00:47:26,500 but not the ones next door, OK? 970 00:47:26,542 --> 00:47:28,667 And we want to do both by God's grace. 971 00:47:28,750 --> 00:47:30,375 So here's what's going on. 972 00:47:30,458 --> 00:47:33,667 And I want to thank you; this is all to say thank you. 973 00:47:33,750 --> 00:47:35,375 So this year, we've sent out elders-- 974 00:47:35,458 --> 00:47:37,833 and we only send out those who are qualified elders, 975 00:47:37,917 --> 00:47:39,667 that we agree are called and ready, 976 00:47:39,750 --> 00:47:42,500 that have been serving with us for at least 3 years-- 977 00:47:42,542 --> 00:47:46,000 but some have been sent out to plant with some funding from you 978 00:47:46,042 --> 00:47:48,500 in Atlanta, Orange County, Denver, and a suburb of Texas. 979 00:47:48,542 --> 00:47:49,958 That's where they felt called. 980 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:51,500 We established the Mars Hill Network, 981 00:47:51,542 --> 00:47:54,167 where we invested in two other churches to really help them 982 00:47:54,250 --> 00:47:56,667 grow, and we put a lot of effort into them. 983 00:47:56,750 --> 00:47:58,375 We had a national Resurgence conference, 984 00:47:58,458 --> 00:48:00,542 where we brought together a few thousand leaders 985 00:48:00,625 --> 00:48:03,250 from all kinds of tribes and churches to invest in them. 986 00:48:03,333 --> 00:48:06,667 And the next one will be up this November in Seattle 987 00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:10,292 and Bellevue and Albuquerque and Reno and Orlando, 988 00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:12,875 and we've got Rick Warren, we've got Greg Laurie, 989 00:48:12,958 --> 00:48:15,167 we've got James MacDonald, we've got Matt Chandler, 990 00:48:15,250 --> 00:48:17,250 we've got Crawford Loritts. 991 00:48:17,333 --> 00:48:19,792 We've got a great lineup, and I'm praying for 992 00:48:19,833 --> 00:48:24,583 4,000-plus Christian leaders that we can invest in and serve. 993 00:48:24,667 --> 00:48:26,792 We've got new friendships with large churches, 994 00:48:26,833 --> 00:48:29,000 pastors that are older than me, 995 00:48:29,042 --> 00:48:31,667 who can help me learn, because I've got a lot to learn, 996 00:48:31,750 --> 00:48:34,458 help us to learn, because we've got a lot to learn, 997 00:48:34,500 --> 00:48:36,958 bigger churches to help us figure out how to love 998 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:39,167 and care for as many people as we have. 999 00:48:39,208 --> 00:48:42,167 And I just want to say it's great to have some friends 1000 00:48:42,208 --> 00:48:43,542 who are helpful. 1001 00:48:43,625 --> 00:48:45,292 And we've given out, this last year, 1002 00:48:45,333 --> 00:48:47,500 thousands of resources for free to pastors--sermons, 1003 00:48:47,542 --> 00:48:50,042 study guides, tons of resources, 1004 00:48:50,125 --> 00:48:51,792 including through the Resurgence. 1005 00:48:51,833 --> 00:48:53,667 And you guys have proven to be 1006 00:48:53,708 --> 00:48:57,167 one of the most generous churches in investing in leaders 1007 00:48:57,208 --> 00:49:00,458 from lots of other churches and lots of other nations, 1008 00:49:00,500 --> 00:49:03,042 and I just want to say thank you for that. 1009 00:49:03,125 --> 00:49:05,750 I want to show you some things that are going on 1010 00:49:05,833 --> 00:49:07,375 internationally as well. 1011 00:49:07,458 --> 00:49:10,583 You guys are funding 42 church planters 1012 00:49:10,667 --> 00:49:12,667 in Ethiopia and India. 1013 00:49:12,708 --> 00:49:15,375 These are nationals who've met and love Jesus, 1014 00:49:15,458 --> 00:49:17,167 and they're out on the front line, 1015 00:49:17,250 --> 00:49:19,542 and you're on the supply line. 1016 00:49:19,625 --> 00:49:22,375 We've taken and had translated 1017 00:49:22,458 --> 00:49:25,167 2,000 copies of the Bible into Amharic, 1018 00:49:25,208 --> 00:49:27,292 which is the language of Ethiopia, 1019 00:49:27,333 --> 00:49:29,250 as we're serving church planters there. 1020 00:49:29,333 --> 00:49:31,500 Some of those Bibles are going to go out 1021 00:49:31,542 --> 00:49:33,000 to Ethiopia. 1022 00:49:33,042 --> 00:49:35,167 Some are going, actually, to local Ethiopian pastors 1023 00:49:35,250 --> 00:49:37,667 in the Seattle area as we've gotten to know them. 1024 00:49:37,750 --> 00:49:40,042 They have resource needs as well. 1025 00:49:40,125 --> 00:49:42,583 We've translated Doctrine, the systematic theology, 1026 00:49:42,667 --> 00:49:45,250 into Spanish and Amharic, as again, 1027 00:49:45,333 --> 00:49:47,167 the language of Ethiopia, 1028 00:49:47,250 --> 00:49:50,542 and it'll be printed, and we're going to give it all away online 1029 00:49:50,625 --> 00:49:53,167 for free, specifically for those who are working internationally 1030 00:49:53,250 --> 00:49:55,333 and want something in their native language. 1031 00:49:55,417 --> 00:49:58,542 This fall, there's a pastor's conference in Ethiopia. 1032 00:49:58,625 --> 00:50:01,333 We're working with a number of church planters there. 1033 00:50:01,417 --> 00:50:04,708 They have not been able to gather and meet for 3 years 1034 00:50:04,792 --> 00:50:07,167 because they don't have the funds. 1035 00:50:07,250 --> 00:50:10,000 Many of them walk literally for days, 1036 00:50:10,042 --> 00:50:13,625 and so you are funding their pastors' conference. 1037 00:50:13,667 --> 00:50:15,667 They're going to meet for a few weeks, 1038 00:50:15,750 --> 00:50:17,708 and they're going to be trained in discipleship. 1039 00:50:17,792 --> 00:50:19,500 We're going to invest in the leaders, 1040 00:50:19,583 --> 00:50:21,833 and then the leaders are going to go back 1041 00:50:21,875 --> 00:50:23,583 and invest in their people 1042 00:50:23,667 --> 00:50:25,708 and plant more churches and make more disciples. 1043 00:50:25,792 --> 00:50:28,208 And this will include what actually is good food for 1044 00:50:28,292 --> 00:50:30,708 a few weeks, which, if you know anything about Ethiopia, 1045 00:50:30,792 --> 00:50:32,708 that's a grace in and of itself. 1046 00:50:32,792 --> 00:50:35,000 And so on behalf of those 400 plus leaders 1047 00:50:35,083 --> 00:50:36,500 and their wives, 1048 00:50:36,542 --> 00:50:39,125 thank you for generously contributing to training them 1049 00:50:39,167 --> 00:50:41,500 for weeks coming up this fall. 1050 00:50:41,583 --> 00:50:44,125 And also, I just finished up the Real Marriage tour, 1051 00:50:44,167 --> 00:50:47,792 and I have a heart for Haiti, so I was asking people on the tour, 1052 00:50:47,833 --> 00:50:50,292 "Sponsor a child, sponsor a child, sponsor a child. 1053 00:50:50,333 --> 00:50:52,500 "They'll get a place to live, an education, food, 1054 00:50:52,583 --> 00:50:55,167 water, safety, they'll learn about Jesus," 1055 00:50:55,250 --> 00:50:57,708 and we sponsored 800 Haitian kids 1056 00:50:57,792 --> 00:51:00,167 just on the Real Marriage tour. 1057 00:51:00,250 --> 00:51:03,167 So, those are just some of the things that are going on 1058 00:51:03,250 --> 00:51:05,000 internationally, and I hope you would say, 1059 00:51:05,042 --> 00:51:06,792 "Great!" right? 1060 00:51:06,833 --> 00:51:11,833 That's good, right? That's good. 1061 00:51:13,542 --> 00:51:17,583 As we go back to Acts 1, the question is, then, 1062 00:51:17,667 --> 00:51:21,792 well, how long do we do this? 1063 00:51:21,833 --> 00:51:23,875 How long do we do this? 1064 00:51:23,958 --> 00:51:25,792 That was kind of their first question. 1065 00:51:25,833 --> 00:51:28,542 And he says, "Don't worry about it. 1066 00:51:28,625 --> 00:51:32,667 "It's not for you to know the time that I'm coming back. 1067 00:51:32,750 --> 00:51:36,167 It's not for you to know the time that I'm coming back." 1068 00:51:36,250 --> 00:51:39,667 Jesus wants us to be less concerned with his coming 1069 00:51:39,708 --> 00:51:43,833 and more concerned with our going. 1070 00:51:43,917 --> 00:51:47,375 Jesus wants us to be less concerned with his coming 1071 00:51:47,458 --> 00:51:50,375 and more concerned with our going. 1072 00:51:50,458 --> 00:51:53,875 It's been 2,000 years, and some would say, "He is slow." 1073 00:51:53,958 --> 00:51:56,667 The Bible says, "He is not slow; he is patient, 1074 00:51:56,708 --> 00:52:00,250 wanting everyone to come to repentance." 1075 00:52:00,333 --> 00:52:04,792 I long for the day that the Lord Jesus returns, 1076 00:52:04,833 --> 00:52:06,875 that we don't have any more elections, 1077 00:52:06,958 --> 00:52:10,167 we don't have any more nations, we don't have any more wars, 1078 00:52:10,208 --> 00:52:14,375 that it's just Jesus and his people together forever. 1079 00:52:14,458 --> 00:52:19,500 But I'm also excited that there remains mission to be completed. 1080 00:52:19,542 --> 00:52:21,750 There are people to be reached, there are churches 1081 00:52:21,833 --> 00:52:26,000 to be planted, there are nations to be served. 1082 00:52:26,042 --> 00:52:28,750 It means that we've not yet finished all the things 1083 00:52:28,833 --> 00:52:31,083 that Jesus has appointed for us to do. 1084 00:52:31,167 --> 00:52:34,250 So, Mars Hill, what I want you to have is, I want you 1085 00:52:34,333 --> 00:52:36,167 to have a marathoner's mentality. 1086 00:52:36,250 --> 00:52:41,000 Don't just show up and sign up and then give up. 1087 00:52:41,042 --> 00:52:43,667 It's about perseverance, right? 1088 00:52:43,708 --> 00:52:47,000 The Holy Spirit wants to empower us to persevere 1089 00:52:47,042 --> 00:52:50,042 like Jesus persevered. 1090 00:52:50,125 --> 00:52:53,583 It's about continuing forward with the mission of Jesus, 1091 00:52:53,667 --> 00:52:56,375 not just giving but giving for the rest of your life; 1092 00:52:56,458 --> 00:52:59,042 not just serving, but serving for the rest of your life; 1093 00:52:59,125 --> 00:53:02,750 not just praying, but praying for the rest of your life. 1094 00:53:02,833 --> 00:53:05,083 We don't know when he's going to come back. 1095 00:53:05,167 --> 00:53:07,083 And I want to warn you, Mars Hill, 1096 00:53:07,167 --> 00:53:09,292 because some of you are new and you're young, 1097 00:53:09,333 --> 00:53:11,500 and what always happens is, there's somebody who reads 1098 00:53:11,542 --> 00:53:13,500 the Old Testament--they'll grab Daniel, they'll grab Ezekiel, 1099 00:53:13,542 --> 00:53:15,333 they'll grab some stuff in Matthew, 1100 00:53:15,417 --> 00:53:17,167 they'll take a few bits of Revelation, 1101 00:53:17,250 --> 00:53:19,958 they'll put it together with Fox News, shake it all up, 1102 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,167 and tell you when Jesus is coming back, 1103 00:53:22,208 --> 00:53:24,375 because there's a chart, OK? 1104 00:53:24,458 --> 00:53:27,292 There's only one chart that matters, and that's God's chart, 1105 00:53:27,333 --> 00:53:30,667 and nobody else will ever see that chart. 1106 00:53:30,750 --> 00:53:34,333 Only God knows when Jesus is returning. 1107 00:53:34,417 --> 00:53:37,500 We have no room for speculation. 1108 00:53:37,542 --> 00:53:41,042 We're far more concerned about our going than his coming. 1109 00:53:41,125 --> 00:53:44,000 And if he comes tomorrow or he comes in 1,000 years, 1110 00:53:44,042 --> 00:53:46,792 if we're still on mission, then we won't have anything 1111 00:53:46,833 --> 00:53:48,875 to be ashamed of, amen? 1112 00:53:48,958 --> 00:53:51,083 So, we're going to continue pressing forward together 1113 00:53:51,167 --> 00:53:53,542 by the Holy Spirit's power. 1114 00:53:53,625 --> 00:53:56,500 And then, this requires our witness. 1115 00:53:56,542 --> 00:53:59,292 He says, "You will be my witnesses." 1116 00:53:59,333 --> 00:54:01,500 Thirty-nine times in Acts he goes on to say, 1117 00:54:01,583 --> 00:54:03,458 "And they were witnesses, and they were witnesses, 1118 00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:05,167 and they were witnesses." 1119 00:54:05,250 --> 00:54:07,750 "Witness" is also the same word for "martyr." 1120 00:54:07,833 --> 00:54:10,833 It's one who trades their life, who says, 1121 00:54:10,917 --> 00:54:15,667 "I'm going to talk about Jesus even if I die, 1122 00:54:15,750 --> 00:54:19,000 "because I know who I'm going to meet on the other side, 1123 00:54:19,042 --> 00:54:21,375 and I no longer fear death." 1124 00:54:21,458 --> 00:54:24,750 Mars Hill, there's a lot of reasons that you and I would not 1125 00:54:24,833 --> 00:54:29,042 talk about Jesus--opposition, ostracism, criticism. 1126 00:54:29,125 --> 00:54:32,167 We are to be his witnesses. 1127 00:54:32,208 --> 00:54:36,167 That's praying for people, loving people, serving people, 1128 00:54:36,208 --> 00:54:38,583 but also speaking to people. 1129 00:54:38,667 --> 00:54:41,833 Like Jesus, it's that holy knot of our works and our words, 1130 00:54:41,917 --> 00:54:44,833 and talking to them about Jesus--coworkers, family, 1131 00:54:44,917 --> 00:54:47,875 friends, neighbors, enemies. 1132 00:54:47,958 --> 00:54:50,792 This is in large part what our Community Groups 1133 00:54:50,833 --> 00:54:55,458 are commissioned to do--to be witnesses in their community, 1134 00:54:55,500 --> 00:54:58,667 to be witnesses in particular neighborhoods to the person 1135 00:54:58,708 --> 00:55:00,750 and the work of Jesus. 1136 00:55:00,833 --> 00:55:04,542 And then lastly, Jesus' mission requires your generosity. 1137 00:55:04,625 --> 00:55:06,792 Let me go back to the beginning. 1138 00:55:06,833 --> 00:55:08,375 He introduced us to another guy. 1139 00:55:08,458 --> 00:55:10,375 Do you remember his name? 1140 00:55:10,458 --> 00:55:11,792 Theophilus. 1141 00:55:11,833 --> 00:55:13,750 You ever met somebody named Theo? 1142 00:55:13,833 --> 00:55:15,958 It's named after this guy. 1143 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:20,292 Over in Luke 1, it mentions this guy as well, Theophilus/Theo, 1144 00:55:20,333 --> 00:55:22,667 and there he is called, "Most Excellent Theophilus." 1145 00:55:22,750 --> 00:55:24,792 That tends to be a title, right? 1146 00:55:24,833 --> 00:55:27,500 How many of you--nobody refers to you as, 1147 00:55:27,542 --> 00:55:30,000 "Your Most Excellency," right? 1148 00:55:30,042 --> 00:55:32,667 It just doesn't work that way. 1149 00:55:32,750 --> 00:55:35,792 You have to be in a very high position, 1150 00:55:35,833 --> 00:55:37,792 particularly in the Middle East. 1151 00:55:37,833 --> 00:55:40,458 Even to this day, all right, you've got to be in 1152 00:55:40,500 --> 00:55:43,167 a high position to be called, "Your Excellency." 1153 00:55:43,250 --> 00:55:49,375 Most Excellent Theophilus--he's the one who was the financer 1154 00:55:49,458 --> 00:55:51,667 for Luke in Acts. 1155 00:55:51,708 --> 00:55:54,167 Did you know that? 1156 00:55:54,250 --> 00:55:58,750 See, what Luke had to do is, Luke had to assemble a research team 1157 00:55:58,833 --> 00:56:04,000 and he had to travel, go to all the places that Jesus went 1158 00:56:04,042 --> 00:56:08,875 and trace the journey of Jesus and interview the eyewitnesses 1159 00:56:08,958 --> 00:56:10,500 and pull up the oral history 1160 00:56:10,542 --> 00:56:12,333 and look at any written documents 1161 00:56:12,417 --> 00:56:14,167 and check all the facts, 1162 00:56:14,250 --> 00:56:17,000 and then he had to record them on huge scrolls. 1163 00:56:17,042 --> 00:56:20,167 This is not like--and he had his solar-powered laptop. 1164 00:56:20,250 --> 00:56:21,667 It wasn't like that. 1165 00:56:21,750 --> 00:56:24,750 So, he's writing this all down, and then somewhere there's 1166 00:56:24,833 --> 00:56:28,375 a couple of guys with necks my size carrying all the scrolls, 1167 00:56:28,458 --> 00:56:29,958 right? 1168 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:31,667 This is quite an endeavor. 1169 00:56:31,750 --> 00:56:34,792 And then, for the book of Acts, he has to follow Paul 1170 00:56:34,833 --> 00:56:37,333 and the journeys of Paul and the work of Paul 1171 00:56:37,417 --> 00:56:40,083 and all the places we're going to read about in Acts, 1172 00:56:40,167 --> 00:56:42,375 and this little team had to go with him 1173 00:56:42,458 --> 00:56:45,250 and do all the research, collect and keep all the research. 1174 00:56:45,333 --> 00:56:47,292 How much do you think that cost? 1175 00:56:47,333 --> 00:56:49,792 How many years do you think that took? 1176 00:56:49,833 --> 00:56:51,375 They don't have airplanes. 1177 00:56:51,458 --> 00:56:56,042 They're walking. They're writing. They're on a ship. 1178 00:56:56,125 --> 00:56:59,500 Sometimes weather's going to delay them. 1179 00:56:59,542 --> 00:57:05,667 This is years. Years. And Theophilus writes the check 1180 00:57:05,750 --> 00:57:08,750 for the whole thing. 1181 00:57:08,833 --> 00:57:12,667 That's why he's mentioned at the beginning of both books. 1182 00:57:12,750 --> 00:57:15,292 Luke is saying, "Most Excellent Theophilus, 1183 00:57:15,333 --> 00:57:18,542 "thank you for all of your support, and here is the result 1184 00:57:18,625 --> 00:57:20,667 of your investment." 1185 00:57:20,708 --> 00:57:26,000 Do you think Theophilus ever regretted spending the money 1186 00:57:26,042 --> 00:57:29,792 for the funding of Luke and Acts? 1187 00:57:29,833 --> 00:57:32,875 Mars Hill, I guarantee you this: he didn't. 1188 00:57:32,958 --> 00:57:34,958 I guarantee you this: he didn't. 1189 00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:37,958 I don't know what kind of rims he had on his chariot, 1190 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:40,875 I don't know--you know, I don't know how big his crib was. 1191 00:57:40,958 --> 00:57:43,250 I don't know. I don't know. 1192 00:57:43,333 --> 00:57:45,083 Here's what I do know: 1193 00:57:45,167 --> 00:57:48,250 he funded the majority of the New Testament. 1194 00:57:48,333 --> 00:57:49,667 You know what's sad? 1195 00:57:49,750 --> 00:57:53,083 Other people missed that opportunity. 1196 00:57:53,167 --> 00:57:54,500 Other people could have said, 1197 00:57:54,542 --> 00:57:56,667 "You know, what did you give your money to? 1198 00:57:56,750 --> 00:57:58,083 "Do you like the Bible? 1199 00:57:58,167 --> 00:57:59,583 You're welcome. I wrote a check." 1200 00:57:59,667 --> 00:58:01,625 Nope, missed the opportunity. 1201 00:58:01,667 --> 00:58:04,083 Theophilus took the opportunity. 1202 00:58:04,167 --> 00:58:08,167 He was an affluent man, and he bankrolled and funded 1203 00:58:08,250 --> 00:58:11,292 the writing of the majority of the New Testament. 1204 00:58:11,333 --> 00:58:14,250 I want you to see from this that stewardship and generosity 1205 00:58:14,333 --> 00:58:18,167 invested in the kingdom of God and being witnesses to Jesus 1206 00:58:18,208 --> 00:58:21,167 is always a worthwhile investment. 1207 00:58:21,250 --> 00:58:24,042 I remember when I was a new Christian attending our church 1208 00:58:24,125 --> 00:58:26,792 as a college student, I made $1,000 a month 1209 00:58:26,833 --> 00:58:28,792 and I decided I'm going to tithe 10%. 1210 00:58:28,833 --> 00:58:31,292 So, I gave $100 a month as a college kid. 1211 00:58:31,333 --> 00:58:34,292 And one of the goals of Grace and I over the years 1212 00:58:34,333 --> 00:58:35,667 has always been, every year, 1213 00:58:35,750 --> 00:58:37,875 to give more than we did the year before 1214 00:58:37,958 --> 00:58:40,875 to the church, and this was before we were even in ministry, 1215 00:58:40,958 --> 00:58:42,875 attending other churches, and things of that kind. 1216 00:58:42,958 --> 00:58:45,083 There's a lot of money that I regret spending. 1217 00:58:45,167 --> 00:58:48,083 There's not a dollar that I've given to the mission of Jesus 1218 00:58:48,167 --> 00:58:49,792 that I wish I could get back. 1219 00:58:49,833 --> 00:58:52,833 I get to see people saved, I get to see lives changed, 1220 00:58:52,917 --> 00:58:54,375 I get to see marriages reconciled, 1221 00:58:54,458 --> 00:58:56,250 I get to see children born, 1222 00:58:56,333 --> 00:58:59,083 I get to see the kingdom of God. 1223 00:58:59,167 --> 00:59:01,833 And with that, we're going to collect our offering right now, 1224 00:59:01,917 --> 00:59:05,167 and I would encourage you to use this as an opportunity to share 1225 00:59:05,208 --> 00:59:07,042 in the heart of Theophilus, 1226 00:59:07,125 --> 00:59:09,083 to give to the mission of Jesus. 1227 00:59:09,167 --> 00:59:11,250 And as we collect our tithes and offerings, 1228 00:59:11,333 --> 00:59:13,500 I want to share with you a couple things. 1229 00:59:13,542 --> 00:59:16,375 This actually is nearing the end of our fiscal year, 1230 00:59:16,458 --> 00:59:18,958 and I wanted to give you guys a brief report. 1231 00:59:19,000 --> 00:59:21,583 So, here's a little mission report of how things are going. 1232 00:59:21,667 --> 00:59:26,542 True or false, the Holy Spirit has come upon us with power? 1233 00:59:26,625 --> 00:59:28,583 True. 1234 00:59:28,667 --> 00:59:31,083 I get asked this from the media all the time. 1235 00:59:31,167 --> 00:59:32,667 "Pastor Mark, what's the secret?" 1236 00:59:32,750 --> 00:59:35,083 Well, it is not my winsome personality. 1237 00:59:35,167 --> 00:59:37,500 It is the power of the Holy Spirit. 1238 00:59:37,542 --> 00:59:40,458 So, Easter we had our biggest Sunday ever for Mars Hill, 1239 00:59:40,500 --> 00:59:42,667 21,000 people. 1240 00:59:42,750 --> 00:59:45,958 In the last year, we had 1,000 people baptized. 1241 00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:47,500 Good or bad? 1242 00:59:47,542 --> 00:59:50,500 Good. 1243 00:59:50,542 --> 00:59:52,792 This is numerous years in a row, 1244 00:59:52,833 --> 00:59:55,500 1,000 plus people baptized. 1245 00:59:55,542 --> 00:59:57,500 We started a new student ministry. 1246 00:59:57,542 --> 00:59:59,083 It has over 400 kids. 1247 00:59:59,167 --> 01:00:02,458 It's had over 60 baptisms of new kids meeting Jesus, 1248 01:00:02,500 --> 01:00:05,125 and it's only been going for less than a year. 1249 01:00:05,167 --> 01:00:08,333 Women's ministry got kicked off across most of our churches. 1250 01:00:08,375 --> 01:00:12,125 Men's training days have been packed out on Saturdays for men. 1251 01:00:12,167 --> 01:00:15,292 And we've also continued with our Community Group campaigns, 1252 01:00:15,333 --> 01:00:18,208 so we've got resources for you to help you study the Bible 1253 01:00:18,292 --> 01:00:21,167 together, even as we're in the book of Acts right now. 1254 01:00:21,250 --> 01:00:24,708 We're looking at moving into new homes for Mars Hill Everett 1255 01:00:24,792 --> 01:00:28,125 and Tacoma, and pray for them and give as we're continuing 1256 01:00:28,167 --> 01:00:31,708 our fundraising effort there for those two churches to grow. 1257 01:00:31,792 --> 01:00:33,208 What's next? 1258 01:00:33,292 --> 01:00:35,375 We've got potential new homes, church buildings, 1259 01:00:35,458 --> 01:00:38,375 in Orange County, Bellevue, Olympia, and Shoreline. 1260 01:00:38,458 --> 01:00:40,208 Our churches are growing. 1261 01:00:40,292 --> 01:00:41,792 We need new homes. 1262 01:00:41,833 --> 01:00:43,708 The places we're renting we want to buy. 1263 01:00:43,792 --> 01:00:46,792 The places we're looking at are about the same per month 1264 01:00:46,833 --> 01:00:50,708 as a rental. And so if we can get the down payment together, 1265 01:00:50,792 --> 01:00:53,500 it'd be great because we could move from renters to owners 1266 01:00:53,583 --> 01:00:56,083 and have more space to serve more people. 1267 01:00:56,167 --> 01:00:58,625 Working on a new discipleship program that'll integrate with 1268 01:00:58,667 --> 01:01:00,375 our Community Groups. 1269 01:01:00,458 --> 01:01:01,875 New kids curriculum is in development. 1270 01:01:01,958 --> 01:01:04,375 There's upwards of 3,000 kids under the age of 10 1271 01:01:04,458 --> 01:01:05,792 at Mars Hill. 1272 01:01:05,833 --> 01:01:07,375 We've got the book of Acts. 1273 01:01:07,458 --> 01:01:09,833 Coming up this summer we've got "My Best Sermon Ever." 1274 01:01:09,917 --> 01:01:14,167 I've got Wayne Grudem, I've got Eric Mason, I've got Paul Tripp, 1275 01:01:14,250 --> 01:01:18,042 I've got Bruce Ware, I've got Larry Osborne all coming in 1276 01:01:18,125 --> 01:01:20,250 to preach for you guys because I love you. 1277 01:01:20,333 --> 01:01:22,000 We're going to do the Ten Commandments 1278 01:01:22,042 --> 01:01:23,375 in the fall. 1279 01:01:23,458 --> 01:01:25,583 Then we're going to do the book of James. 1280 01:01:25,667 --> 01:01:28,292 And the biggest thing I think we've ever done, after that, 1281 01:01:28,333 --> 01:01:29,792 will be "My Problem With Christianity." 1282 01:01:29,833 --> 01:01:31,792 We've commissioned a huge research team to do 1283 01:01:31,833 --> 01:01:33,583 a very large national survey-- 1284 01:01:33,667 --> 01:01:35,833 what are the objections and oppositions 1285 01:01:35,917 --> 01:01:37,583 to Christianity from unbelievers. 1286 01:01:37,667 --> 01:01:39,500 We're going to take the top eight 1287 01:01:39,542 --> 01:01:42,500 and we're going to bang those out, one sermon at a time. 1288 01:01:42,542 --> 01:01:44,292 It should be [sound of explosion] dynamite. 1289 01:01:44,333 --> 01:01:49,667 All right, and so, yeah, here's what we've got coming. 1290 01:01:49,750 --> 01:01:52,583 The good news is our spending is below projection, 1291 01:01:52,667 --> 01:01:54,500 so we've been good stewards. 1292 01:01:54,542 --> 01:01:57,292 The bad news is our giving is below projections, 1293 01:01:57,333 --> 01:01:59,292 so we've got about $1 million difference 1294 01:01:59,333 --> 01:02:02,750 to make up across the church by the end of our fiscal year 1295 01:02:02,833 --> 01:02:04,292 at the end of June. 1296 01:02:04,333 --> 01:02:07,292 So pray for your church, and if you pray for your church, 1297 01:02:07,333 --> 01:02:08,792 your treasure follows your heart. 1298 01:02:08,833 --> 01:02:10,792 So it starts with praying for your church. 1299 01:02:10,833 --> 01:02:14,000 And as we end our fiscal year, I wanted you to see this. 1300 01:02:14,042 --> 01:02:16,792 So if you look at all of Mars Hill Church, right, 1301 01:02:16,833 --> 01:02:18,792 a lot of people, maybe, I don't know, 1302 01:02:18,833 --> 01:02:21,167 12,000 this week or something, 1303 01:02:21,208 --> 01:02:23,958 what church has the lowest percentage of people giving? 1304 01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:26,292 Less than 20%, Rainier Valley. 1305 01:02:26,333 --> 01:02:29,583 Between 20% and 30% of people giving anything, right, 1306 01:02:29,667 --> 01:02:32,333 so when my 7-year-old Gideon brings his tithe to church 1307 01:02:32,417 --> 01:02:36,292 today, he'll be jumping into the category of giver. 1308 01:02:36,333 --> 01:02:38,458 It's giving any amount. 1309 01:02:38,500 --> 01:02:40,792 Everett, Federal Way, Orange County, Portland, 1310 01:02:40,833 --> 01:02:44,583 and U-District, 20% to 30% of people give anything in a year. 1311 01:02:44,667 --> 01:02:46,292 They're giving anything. 1312 01:02:46,333 --> 01:02:49,292 Thirty-one to forty percent is Albuquerque, Ballard, Bellevue, 1313 01:02:49,333 --> 01:02:52,667 Downtown Seattle, Olympia, Shoreline, and West Seattle. 1314 01:02:52,750 --> 01:02:56,292 And the big brother we all need to give a hug to is Sammamish, 1315 01:02:56,333 --> 01:03:01,458 as over 40% of people at Sammamish are giving. 1316 01:03:01,500 --> 01:03:04,250 And here's what I want you to see: 1317 01:03:04,333 --> 01:03:06,500 we're 1 family with 14 kids. 1318 01:03:06,542 --> 01:03:09,292 Rainier Valley is an impoverished area, 1319 01:03:09,333 --> 01:03:11,000 and we've got, actually, 1320 01:03:11,042 --> 01:03:14,083 a lot of women who live at Hope Place, 1321 01:03:14,167 --> 01:03:16,750 which is a transitional home for women that have had 1322 01:03:16,833 --> 01:03:18,583 hard circumstances. 1323 01:03:18,667 --> 01:03:21,583 A church like Mars Hill would never go plant a church there 1324 01:03:21,667 --> 01:03:24,042 because it's not economically viable, 1325 01:03:24,125 --> 01:03:26,083 but it's also the most diverse zip code 1326 01:03:26,167 --> 01:03:27,792 in the United States of America, 1327 01:03:27,833 --> 01:03:30,667 and one way to reach the nations is just to reach 1328 01:03:30,708 --> 01:03:32,583 Rainier Valley because all the nations are there. 1329 01:03:32,667 --> 01:03:35,333 And so the churches that are giving generously are helping 1330 01:03:35,417 --> 01:03:37,792 to support the churches that are struggling financially. 1331 01:03:37,833 --> 01:03:39,958 Same with the University District, right? 1332 01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,583 There's two kinds of broke: broke and college broke. 1333 01:03:42,667 --> 01:03:44,583 That's a whole new level of broke. 1334 01:03:44,667 --> 01:03:46,542 Most college kids are not like, 1335 01:03:46,625 --> 01:03:49,583 "Yeah, we're ready to buy our building and fund our staff." 1336 01:03:49,667 --> 01:03:51,375 If we want pizza, they could help. 1337 01:03:51,458 --> 01:03:53,458 Beyond that, they're not a huge financial contribution. 1338 01:03:53,500 --> 01:03:56,167 So, what that means is the older, the more mature, 1339 01:03:56,208 --> 01:03:58,583 the more established, the more godly churches 1340 01:03:58,667 --> 01:04:00,167 need to be generous. 1341 01:04:00,208 --> 01:04:02,667 In the same way, in a family, the big brother, 1342 01:04:02,708 --> 01:04:04,667 the big sister looks after the little brother, 1343 01:04:04,750 --> 01:04:06,083 the little sister. 1344 01:04:06,167 --> 01:04:08,292 Eventually, the little brother, the little sister grows up, 1345 01:04:08,333 --> 01:04:10,458 and then they get to look after the newest 1346 01:04:10,500 --> 01:04:12,167 and latest little brother and little sister. 1347 01:04:12,250 --> 01:04:13,583 That's how we do it. 1348 01:04:13,667 --> 01:04:15,292 So, I want to say thank you. 1349 01:04:15,333 --> 01:04:17,042 And I'll tell you something cool, too. 1350 01:04:17,125 --> 01:04:19,583 We told Mars Hill Sammamish, "Hey, some of your money's 1351 01:04:19,667 --> 01:04:21,583 going to help Mars Hill Rainier Valley." 1352 01:04:21,667 --> 01:04:24,083 You know what they did? They cheered and clapped. 1353 01:04:24,167 --> 01:04:26,292 That's good, right? That's good. 1354 01:04:26,333 --> 01:04:28,667 I'll tell you what, when I pay my taxes, 1355 01:04:28,708 --> 01:04:31,250 I do not cheer or clap 1356 01:04:31,333 --> 01:04:35,083 because I'm not as excited about the mission. 1357 01:04:35,167 --> 01:04:39,458 We'll edit that out, but it's very insightful. 1358 01:04:39,500 --> 01:04:42,167 Lastly, how to participate. 1359 01:04:42,250 --> 01:04:44,667 You've got a giving envelope, you can give online at 1360 01:04:44,750 --> 01:04:47,375 marshill.com/give, and you can go to marshill.com 1361 01:04:47,458 --> 01:04:48,875 to set up a Connect account. 1362 01:04:48,958 --> 01:04:50,792 Hey, it's not about the money; 1363 01:04:50,833 --> 01:04:52,792 it's about the mission. 1364 01:04:52,833 --> 01:04:55,750 We want people to meet Jesus, we want churches to get planted, 1365 01:04:55,833 --> 01:04:57,792 we want the nations to be reached, 1366 01:04:57,833 --> 01:05:01,042 and to be a generous people, we need to be a generous people. 1367 01:05:01,125 --> 01:05:04,833 Father God, thank you so much that what we read about in Acts 1368 01:05:04,917 --> 01:05:07,292 is what we're seeing at Mars Hill, 1369 01:05:07,333 --> 01:05:11,292 that you have come upon us with power. 1370 01:05:11,333 --> 01:05:16,458 God, you have done powerful, wonderful things in our midst. 1371 01:05:16,500 --> 01:05:22,000 Over 1,000 baptisms is amazing in a year--amazing. 1372 01:05:22,042 --> 01:05:25,458 Lord God, that we get to be in 14 locations, that we get to, 1373 01:05:25,500 --> 01:05:28,583 from there, serve the nations--it's amazing. 1374 01:05:28,667 --> 01:05:33,375 Jesus, you are alive. 1375 01:05:33,458 --> 01:05:37,375 You have sent the Holy Spirit. 1376 01:05:37,458 --> 01:05:41,375 He has been good to us, amen, Mars Hill? 1377 01:05:41,458 --> 01:05:43,542 He has been good to us. 1378 01:05:43,625 --> 01:05:46,042 Help us to be good witnesses. 1379 01:05:46,125 --> 01:05:48,000 Help us to have Luke's courage. 1380 01:05:48,042 --> 01:05:52,083 Help us to have Theophilus' generosity so that more people 1381 01:05:52,167 --> 01:05:56,750 might meet Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. 1382 01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:02,000 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1383 01:06:02,042 --> 01:06:05,083 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1384 01:06:05,167 --> 01:06:07,667 This ministry is generously supported 1385 01:06:07,750 --> 01:06:10,333 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1386 01:06:10,375 --> 01:06:13,875 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1387 01:06:13,958 --> 01:06:16,875 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1388 01:06:16,958 --> 01:06:19,792 by visiting marshill.com/give.