[0:01] Father God, thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus to whom it points. We pray, Father, that tonight you might again point us toward him and call us to the service of him.
[0:15] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, friends, I want to start tonight's Bible talk with a little task for you. I want you to imagine that you have received a letter from a lawyer or a phone call and he has told you that you are the beneficiary of someone's will.
[0:33] Now, the amount that has been left to you is around 100,000 pounds. Dollars, I mean. The only trick is that you cannot use it for yourself. In fact, you must give it away.
[0:46] And you must give it away to five different organisations or causes. And you can choose how much you give to each. You can split it up different ways if you like or you can give equal ways.
[0:56] All that is required is that you let the lawyer know what you're going to do and who you want him to distribute it to. So I want you to stop now and you can even write down how you would distribute your $100,000 amount.
[1:14] You don't have to write it down if you don't want to, but you can think about it in your brain. $100,000, you must give it to five organisations or causes and you can give it away in whatever proportion you like.
[1:28] Give it some thought just for a minute. If you're using the outline I've given you, you can see there's even a spot if you want to write it down. Okay, friends.
[1:57] Now that we've done that or started the process and started thinking about it, I want you to forget about it. We will come back to it, though, at the end of the talk tonight. Now, having made this start, let me welcome you again here tonight to our Summer Bible Studies on Acts.
[2:12] If you're a visitor, a special welcome to you. If you're a regular 6pm congregation member, I encourage you to come along to the whole series, not just 6pm. You see, we are going to, if you only come on Sundays, you'll miss out.
[2:25] We're going to cover Acts 1 to 15 and you'll only get half the talks and half the story if you come along only at 6pm. So generally 6pm is don't come along at Wednesday night, but tonight I'm encouraging you to come along.
[2:39] Stretch yourselves because this is a terrific book of the Bible. It will encourage you. It will stimulate your faith. It will encourage and strengthen your Christian life and prepare you for life and ministry.
[2:53] Now, if you're not here on, if you weren't here on Wednesday, let me give you the briefest of sketches as to what we did. Acts 1, verses 1 to 4 reminds us that Acts is volume 2 of a two-volume work.
[3:11] The first volume, of course, is the Gospel of Luke. And the words in Acts 1, verses 1 to 4 reflect the language and introduce volume 2.
[3:23] It also tells us what happened in volume 1. You see, it tells us, verses 1 to 2 of Acts 1 gives us a briefest summary of volume 1. It tells us that volume 1, that is Luke, was about what Jesus began to do and teach.
[3:38] By implication, volume 2 tells us what Jesus continued to do and teach through his followers. Now, once Luke is told that, he has set the scene for volume 2.
[3:50] And he does this, oh, sorry, he sets the scene for volume 2. And he does this by emphasising three things. Those of you who are here on Wednesday might remember this. He emphasises the commandments which Jesus gave to his disciples.
[4:02] He emphasises the reality of the resurrection appearances of Jesus. And he emphasises the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
[4:14] Now, those things are very important to remember. You see, these things are the foundation upon which the continuing work of the followers of Jesus will proceed.
[4:24] It is these things that will mean their work is a continuation of the work of the founder of the church, Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that you are one of the disciples.
[4:37] That is, you have been there for the three years. Perhaps you were there and you saw John the Baptist pointing to Jesus and saying, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And from that moment on, you were involved with Jesus.
[4:50] And you watched. Now, let me tell you, if you were a good Jew when Jesus arrived, you would have thought about Jesus or about the kingdom of God in these sort of terms.
[5:02] You would have thought the flow of saving history goes in this sort of way. And Alex, I might get you to put it up. You will think that it goes like this. There was creation.
[5:13] And then there would be the coming of the Messiah, who would be a new David, bring in a new Israel, through whom the Spirit would come.
[5:25] There would be a new people of God under God's rule. Now, imagine, though, you have watched for three years the ministry of Jesus. You have watched this incredible man.
[5:38] You have watched him and it has suddenly or slowly dawned on you that he was the Messiah. Now, having realized that, what would be the incredibly important question that rested on your mind?
[5:54] You see, from the very start, Jesus preached about the kingdom of God. You then came to realize and recognize that he was the king. So what would be the question on your mind if you had that framework in your brain?
[6:08] It would be this question. Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? In other words, we know you are the Messiah. We're convinced now.
[6:19] You continually preached about the kingdom. We know that you are the king of that kingdom. We know that you have come to bring the rule of God over God's people.
[6:30] Everything that is needed has now happened. So is now the time. Are you now going to wrap it up and complete the purposes of God?
[6:42] Are you going to restore the kingdom? To Israel. Are you going to bring the world together under the rule of the Messiah? The rule of God exercised by the Messiah is now the time.
[6:59] That's what I think is going on in the minds of the disciples in verse six. Now I want you to look at the answer that Jesus gives. It is fascinating. And as we take a closer look, I want you to notice some of the things that are said here.
[7:11] First, notice the answer. It is a non-answer, isn't it? Jesus says, it is not for you to know the times or the periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
[7:22] In effect, he is saying, it's none of your business. I find the answer really quite intriguing, really. I love it. You see, if nothing else, it shows you that we've got the real Jesus in front of us, doesn't it?
[7:36] Because it shows that the ability of Jesus to not quite answer the question you're asking as expected has not changed after his death and his resurrection.
[7:46] And this is the same Jesus. But you can see what Jesus is doing, can't you? He is saying, the question you are asking is the wrong question.
[8:00] You see, he's making clear that the question that they have, which is a question of timing, is not the important question. The important question is not when, but what.
[8:13] The important question is not when are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Rather, the important question is what do you want us to do while we wait for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?
[8:26] Can you see that, friends? It's a very important distinction. The question is not when are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? But what do you want us to do while we wait for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?
[8:38] And that is the question that Jesus goes on to answer, not the question they want answered. He tells them that they must understand their task. Their task in this new epoch that starts with his death and resurrection is to act as witnesses to him.
[8:57] They are to tell the world what they know of him. They are to witness to him from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. This is how God's kingdom will spread through the witness of the disciples of Jesus.
[9:12] And then he tells them how they'll be able to accomplish it. You see, they will do so with his help. For he will send the Holy Spirit to empower them for that very task.
[9:26] So he goes on to point out, or the angels go out to point out, don't stand around gazing into the sky if that is the case. Perhaps you're like me.
[9:38] You never quite understood what Acts chapter 1 verses 9 to 11 are about. Let me make a suggestion. They are reminded to the disciples as to the impact of what Jesus has said.
[9:48] You see, in verse 9, Jesus is taken up from the disciples. In verse 10, there they are, standing, looking into heaven. People longing for his return, waiting for him to come again.
[10:03] Their unspoken prayer is met by the appearance of two men. And these men give a commentary on what has happened and ask why the disciples are gazing into heaven.
[10:14] The point of the encounter is very clear, isn't it? What is being said is this. Why are you doing this? Why look into heaven? You have your orders. They have just been handed down.
[10:25] Get on with your job. Jesus will return in due time, at the right time. He will come back just as he has gone. In other words, Jesus is returning.
[10:38] But you, don't be concerned about the timing. Get on with the job set before he does. So let me try and sum up these few verses by using another diagram.
[10:49] What Jesus is doing here is he's letting them know that they've got to change their Jewish views of God's saving history and transform it into a Christian view.
[11:00] And so you can see what it looks like here. If I were to draw a diagram, it might look like this. There is a creation. There is the coming of the Messiah, which brings in the inauguration of the beginning of the kingdom.
[11:12] There is the second coming of the Messiah, which will bring about the new David, the new Israel and the coming of the spirit. Well, actually, I should have the consummation of the kingdom where the kingdom will be consumed.
[11:25] But what you have from the moment that Jesus dies and is resurrected and ascended is you have a new people of God under God's rule. And you could add to this diagram one very important addition.
[11:39] And this is now going to come up on the screen. Do you see the addition? The addition is the coming of the spirit. Will enable the new people of God to fulfill the true task of Israel.
[11:53] And that is referring, I think, to Isaiah 49, verse six. You see, the coming of the kingdom will do this. It is interesting, isn't it? You see, we are so used to interpreting these verses six to eight in one way that we miss the important point.
[12:11] The most important point. These verses, friends, are not about power. The priority is not on the coming of the spirit.
[12:22] The priority in these verses is on witness. Jesus is giving a job description to the representatives of his people, like the Israel of Isaiah 49, verse six.
[12:38] The disciples are there as God's servant. And he is saying to them to restore to the tribes of Israel and bring back those of Israel.
[12:50] God has kept for himself. As Isaiah says, they are to be a light to the nations in order that they might bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
[13:02] Where? From Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth. That task, the task of the servant in Israel, in Isaiah is now theirs.
[13:14] The passage is plain. What I think Jesus is doing is he's putting a split in history. He is saying that God is holding back this day of judgment. God is holding back the day when he'll wind up history.
[13:27] He is giving a time in which his people may enter the kingdom and escape his imminent anger and scathing judgment.
[13:41] And in this split within history, Jesus is giving the people of God a job description. Their job description is therefore the equivalent of Matthew 24, verse 14, where Jesus says, The gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all, as a witness, if you like, to all the nations.
[14:08] And then the end shall come. That's Matthew 24, verse 14. And can you see what all of this means then? All of this means that these verses are, I think, not directed to an isolated group of 11 men.
[14:26] These verses, I think, are to us in the end. God is confronting us who live in this split within history. And he's saying, I have a purpose for my world.
[14:39] My purpose is to bring into existence a people for myself. But more than that, I have a purpose for you. And your purpose is to mirror my purpose.
[14:52] Your goal as my spirit-filled people between the first and the second coming is to be witnesses. Friends, our task until Jesus returns is essentially one of evangelism.
[15:06] And Acts 1 is not an isolated passage in the Bible. It is repeated time and time again. Let me take you to a few other passages. And as we'll do this, as we do this, you'll see that the command given to the disciples in Acts 1 is given to them, yes, as our representatives.
[15:22] But they do represent us. Their God-given task becomes our God-given task. Their job description of witness becomes our job description of witness.
[15:34] By the way, I should say here that there are some people who differ with me about how to interpret this passage. There are some who say being a witness is about witnessing to the resurrection.
[15:47] There are some who say this is only the task of the 11 or the 12. And passages like the one at the end of Acts, if you're in Acts there looking at it with me, have a look at the end of Acts 1, would seem to offer some support for this.
[15:59] Because remember what happens? Judas is dead. And after the death of Jesus, they seek to appoint someone to fill the gap left. And when they do, they stipulate that the person who replaces Judas must be one who's seen things from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
[16:15] Not only that, but their role is to witness with other apostles to the resurrection of Jesus. However, I think that restricting witness to witnessing to the resurrection and restricting the task of the apostles simply does not fit with the rest of the book of Acts.
[16:33] It does not fit. It does not fit with the evidence of Luke-Acts as a whole. And I've written a little paper to support my argument, looking at every time the word witness occurs, or the verb or the noun for witnessing occurs in Acts and Luke.
[16:48] And if you want to get a copy of me later on, I'll be very glad to give one to you. I've got a collection of them. I think the original apostles are given the task of witness as our representatives, and we inherit it from them.
[17:05] And it's being a witness to all that Jesus has done, including what God has done in resurrecting him from the dead. Okay, with that in mind, let's move on.
[17:15] Acts 4, 1 to 22. Now, I just want to follow this thread through Acts just to show you that this is not something novel. Now, perhaps you remember Acts 4. Acts 4 is a grand passage.
[17:28] Peter and John are arrested for speaking about Jesus. Now, take special note of how the apostles respond.
[17:45] Look at verses 19 to 20. Notice the words that they use. Listen to you. They are saying, we have no choice. We can listen to what God has said, or we can listen to you, the religious authorities, and what you are saying.
[18:04] Now, I can find in this passage where religious authorities command the disciples to do something, but I can't find, and that's in verse 18, they command them to not speak.
[18:15] But I cannot find where God has told them anywhere in this passage to do something. I think that's because he tells them in Acts 1, verses 6 to 8.
[18:26] He says, go and be my witnesses in Jerusalem. That's what they're doing now. Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. The thing God says to them is the command in Acts 1, 7 to 8.
[18:38] And this command has now become so foundational for their lives that they think they're under command, which they are. Acts 1, 7 to 8 colors their whole approach to life now.
[18:49] They are under a command to speak about Jesus. And the word listen to in Acts 4 doesn't have a general reference. It is specific. They're under a specific command.
[19:00] And they are going to do it. It is a command to witness. And when a human being says, don't do it, what are they going to do? They're going to say, well, you tell me. You've got a command from God, a command from human beings.
[19:10] Which one are you going to do? I'm going to follow the command from God. I must listen to God rather than human beings. The second thing I want you to notice is what motivates the apostles to speak about Jesus.
[19:24] Look at verse 21. It's a lovely verse. Notice these are people under command. They've been told. Witness. You know what the disciples say?
[19:35] Here's their real motivation. It's lovely, isn't it? For we cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard. It is not the command that motivates them.
[19:47] It is the fact that they have met Jesus. They have come to understand who Jesus is. Friends, a person who knows Jesus, a person who understands who Jesus is, is a person who cannot but help speak of him.
[20:02] They may be under command. But they cannot help it anyway. Their primary motivation is that they know Jesus and cannot help speaking to others about him.
[20:13] She's going to get embarrassed at this point, but I'm going to do it anyway and face the music later. Heather loves the Lord Jesus.
[20:25] And she's a fine evangelist. Why? Because she cannot but help speak of him. You see, that's what a Christian is.
[20:36] They are someone who cannot but help speak of him, the one they have seen and heard of. You see, the primary motivation for evangelism is that we know Jesus and we want others to know him too.
[20:55] Let's turn to Acts 5 now. And the preaching and healing ministry of the apostles again causes friction with the religious authorities and they're arrested again. And they're released by an angel.
[21:06] And then they go back and they start preaching again. I mean, they get the spectacular release and, you know, I'd be tempted to go home and hide. But no, they get out there and they start preaching again. They're arrested again.
[21:18] And the high priest reminds them that a chapter earlier he had ordered them not to preach in the name of Jesus. Verse 28. And the apostles respond in verses 29 to 32.
[21:30] And look at them with me. The apostles state even more clearly than they had said it before. They must obey God rather than human authorities.
[21:41] And then they give a short gospel presentation. You know, not enough to say, well, we're not going to do what you say. Let's give a little gospel outline while we're doing it. And they do 30 to 31. And finally, they explain their reason for preaching in verse 32.
[21:55] Can you see it? Look at what they say. They say their job is they are to witness to these things. And then look at what they say the Holy Spirit's job is.
[22:09] The Holy Spirit is doing the same thing. He's witnessing to the same things. And look at who they say the Holy Spirit is given to. He is given to those who obey him.
[22:19] Now, presumably, the obedience which they are talking about here is the same as the obedience in verse 29. That is obeying God's command to witness. Now, I take it that the reference to the Spirit being given is not receiving the Spirit for the first time, but the Spirit being given for ministry as life goes on.
[22:39] It's a reference to being filled with the Spirit in a special way. And friends, do you see this? The implication is profound. God is speaking to us.
[22:50] He is making his word crystal clear. And the process that we often imagine is not the one that God follows. You see, I think we normally imagine things this way, don't we?
[23:03] We really want to do the task of evangelism. And so we wait around for God to give us the power. And then when he does, we get on with the job he has given us to be his witnesses.
[23:15] Sort of our own little Acts 2. Okay? That's not what's said here, is it? Follow the logic of the verses. It's not what is said here. The process here is very different.
[23:26] It goes like this. You already have the Spirit because you are Christian. You also already have a job description because you are Christian. Therefore, get on with the job.
[23:41] And then God will do his part by his Spirit who always wants Jesus to be glorified. His job is always to witness to Jesus. And so where his people who are filled with his Spirit get on with the task, God's Holy Spirit will be into it full bore.
[23:58] Because that's what his job is. To glorify Jesus. Now, I think we all know this from experience, don't we? We sit in timidity.
[24:08] We wonder, you know, how can we get up the courage to talk to our friends about Jesus or whatever. And when we actually get on with the job of telling people about Jesus, we find that God is with us by his Spirit.
[24:23] Giving us words. Using them to convict. I had just an example of this. And the woman didn't even know it was happening. We had our four o'clock service today.
[24:34] And she said at Christmas, this last Christmas, her nephew had come and said to her mother, Do you know what Christmas is about, Mum?
[24:49] She said, no, you tell me. Well, I'm not sure that those are exact words, but she said, you tell me. She said, it's about Jesus. And she proceeded to explain what Jesus had done.
[25:02] My friends, this friend of ours said, I can't even remember the conversation. But she did what she knew was the task at this particular point.
[25:14] She shared with her nephew about the Lord Jesus. So, friends, we know that from experience, I think. But I want to show you one more passage just to show you.
[25:24] It's not only in Acts, but it's elsewhere. Go to 1 Corinthians 10. Now, in 1 Corinthians 8 to 10, Paul has had a big task on his hands. You see, he's got the question of whether Christians should eat food offered to idols or food that has been offered to idols and then gone and sold in the marketplaces.
[25:45] And he spends three chapters working through this issue. It's a fundamentally important issue in a Greek context. And in chapter 10, verses 31 to chapter 11, verse 1, he winds up the argument.
[26:00] And I want you to look at the verses. And I want you to ask yourself this as I explain them, as I read them. How do I... So make it very personal for yourself.
[26:10] How do I follow the example of Paul as he follows the example of Christ? How do I follow the example of Paul as he follows the example of Christ? Let me read them. Paul says, One of the massive mistakes that was made in putting verse numbers in the Bible was that one there.
[26:51] Right? Because he's just explained his whole rationale. And then he goes on to say, Be imitators of me. And people have taken, Be imitators of me are separate. It's belonging to the next chapter when it belongs to the previous chapter.
[27:04] He's saying, Copy me. Do you see it? It's obvious, isn't it? You follow Paul as he follows Jesus by doing what?
[27:14] By seeking the good of many so that they may be saved. And it makes a whole lot of sense, doesn't it? After all, Luke chapter 19 verse 10 says, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.
[27:32] It is in this that Paul most closely imitates Jesus. He too is committed to doing what? Seeking and saving the lost. So when he works out what he's going to buy down at the local marketplace, he has in mind what?
[27:47] Seeking and saving the lost. So he won't do anything that will work against that. He too is committed to seeking and saving the lost.
[27:57] That is what makes him tick. He expects that this is what will make the Corinthians tick. And he expects that it will make all Christians tick. He expects that this is what will make us tick.
[28:09] Our whole motivation in life should be the glory of God and glorify. God is glorified when? When Christ is proclaimed as King. God is glorified when people are saved through our words about Jesus.
[28:24] Friends, I could go on through lots more passages. However, it's time we return to Acts 1 and wrap things up a bit. So let's do that now. Now, there's something of a problem with what I said with Acts 1, isn't there?
[28:34] The problem is that 19 centuries have, or 20 centuries have rolled by since the words were first said. And we are still waiting. The rule of God has still not come in its visible fullness.
[28:49] The kingdom of God is still not consummated. Jesus has not returned yet. The heavenly clock is still ticking on. Second by second.
[29:00] Minute by minute. Hour by hour. Day by day. Year by year. Century by century. It heads toward its goal. And here we are. But this passage still speaks to us today.
[29:14] It says that in one way or another, we're still in the position that the disciples found themselves in. We still wait for the end. But while we wait, we are not to be concerned with questions of timing.
[29:28] We're to be concerned with much more important things. We have a job to get on with. And it's as though, see, I think Victorians can understand this better than most. It's as though we are in the fourth quarter and past the 25 minutes and into extra time.
[29:44] Okay? That is, we have to beat the clock by our witnessing. Preaching the gospel in season, out of season, while we still have opportunity.
[29:58] Evangelizing while we can. Our focus is to be on witnessing to the Lord Jesus in life and in word. Our priority in life is to be telling people about Jesus before the kingdom comes and living kingdom lives before the kingdom comes.
[30:13] So that it will not be a surprise for us. And so that people might glorify God on the day that he visits. This is what really matters. This is to be our consuming passion.
[30:26] There's another point to make from Acts 1. I want you to think about the people you hear about in this chapter. You know, imagine those 11 men there. Think about who they are.
[30:37] Who are they? What are they? They're fishermen. Tax collectors. Revolutionaries, that is zealots. Normal people.
[30:49] With normal families. The sort of people that populate the world at any time. What do they do when they hear of God's strategy for them? Well, they grasp it.
[31:01] And they realize there's only one really important thing in life. They recognize that everything else piles into insignificance beside it. Only one thing's important now. And it is so important, so urgent, that it demands radical life change.
[31:15] It demands that they put down their nets again. You see, they'd gone back to fishing, hadn't they? At least some of them. Well, now they put their nets down again. And they stop being fishermen.
[31:26] And they stop being tax collectors and zealots. And the priority of evangelism and evangelizing the world demands that they stop being ordinary people with ordinary pursuits.
[31:36] And they become gospel people. And many of them will give their lives being gospel people. The man who gives the speech in the next chapter by legend demanded that he be hung upside down.
[31:53] That he be crucified upside down because he didn't want to die in the same way as his Lord had. But he did, didn't he? Testifying to the Lord Jesus. Thomas Pabst reached India.
[32:05] They went throughout all the world evangelizing. They will give their whole lives over to the purpose of beating the clock by becoming evangelists.
[32:17] People who determined that all that they are and all that they have will be given over to ensuring that as many as possible are in the kingdom when the alarm goes off.
[32:29] Friends, these ordinary people are not alone. Throughout history there have been people who have been grasped by the gospel. And gospel priorities just like these people were.
[32:40] And friends, hopefully we have been too. For we know too that in Jesus we have found something more important than anything else.
[32:52] For we have met God's Messiah. Jesus. And meeting him has put a question mark over everything we ever thought important.
[33:07] There is only one important thing now. Well, God is calling us to join the disciples. He calls us to be witnesses, friends.
[33:24] To be evangelists. It's a strong word. I don't mean, you know, the sort of person who always has the gift. But the person who is concerned about people coming to know Jesus. Friends, let me put it starkly.
[33:44] The call of Jesus in these verses is an incredibly radical call. It is a call to stop putting a career first, a family first, a marriage partner first, a mortgage first, financial security first, promotion first.
[33:59] It is to put witnessing to Jesus first. To put that in a place of priority and to do so in our use of time, our study, our relationships, our money, every part of our life.
[34:12] However, I don't even think it's right to stop there. And friends, if you're from Not Holy Trinity, you can block your ears now. This is just for the insiders. Friends, this is a rich and spoiled church.
[34:24] It is. It is a rich and spoiled church. It is full of gifted men and women. I cannot help thinking that there might be a further word for us here at Holy Trinity.
[34:39] You see, if I can put it really crudely, we are amongst the most spoiled Christians in the world. What do I mean by that?
[34:51] Well, we are relatively wealthy compared to the rest of the world, financially. Even the poorest of you here are that. Second, we have a rich and noble heritage of word ministry here at Holy Trinity.
[35:05] Many of you come from a background which has, even if you're not from Holy Trinity, that has a rich and noble heritage of gospel and Bible teaching ministry. But going back to Holy Trinity, I do not know a church in Melbourne that has as many theologically educated people among its members or training for ministry.
[35:27] I don't know another church as rich as ours. Now, I could fill the year's preaching program with preachers from this congregation who are not in Christian ministry but have been trained for it or who are in it and trained for it.
[35:46] Many of you here at Holy Trinity are extremely gifted in ministry. We are a church, I think, spoiled beyond belief. And many of you who are not from Holy Trinity come from spoiled churches as well.
[36:02] And we know Jesus. We have come to know God's purpose for his world. But my feelings are that some of us are still holding what we know at arm's length.
[36:18] We have not yet let it touch us. We know there's important things now. We know that God calls us to throw away every priority we have which stands in the way of accomplishing his priority.
[36:31] We know that he calls us to be witnesses in our work, in occupation, in our families, in our extended families.
[36:43] We know what God wants. We know that we are to imitate his son, whose aim in life and death was to seek and to save the lost. But I think we have not taken this as seriously as we might.
[36:56] For some of us, still need to let God challenge us where it hurts. And for some of us, that will be costly in terms of life choices or money or career or the like.
[37:06] And I know people in this congregation for whom that is the case. Friends, I want to urge us all tonight to consider how we might give up what Michael Griffiths wonderfully called once our small ambitions.
[37:21] In order to spend our time and energy on God's great and grand purpose. The chief task of Christians is still the same.
[37:33] It is still witnessing to Jesus. And this is what God the Father is doing. This is what God the Son died for. And this is what God the Holy Spirit focuses his energy on.
[37:47] Friends, do you understand who Jesus is? Can you say, follow my example as I follow the example of Christ? Okay, before we finish, we have to go back to $100,000, don't we?
[38:01] So go back to $100,000. Remember it. Can you remember how you allocated it? Well, let me say that a good way to work out your priorities, according to the Lord Jesus, is to see where your heart is and where it drifts to, and particularly where your money gets allocated.
[38:21] Let me say that a good way, your priorities, you see, will always be where you put your money. Your wallet or your purse is often the last thing to get converted.
[38:33] If you did not spend any, or even perhaps most of your money on gospel proclamation or gospel ministry or Christian ministry in some way, either, you know, it doesn't have to be formal type or whatever, then I tentatively suggest that it might be time to do some rethinking.
[38:55] Maybe you have not fully grasped the gospel and its implications yet. Maybe you need to do some work on understanding what God is about in his world.
[39:08] And maybe you need to change your understanding into action and change lifestyle. It's just a small indicator. It's a bit of a, I've cheated on you in some ways, but it's a good thing, isn't it, just to calculate and to work out.
[39:23] Let's pray. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for your son, our Lord, Jesus the Christ.
[39:39] Thank you for his words here to those first disciples. Thank you for his words to us as we inherit their mantle.
[39:53] Father, we thank you that we here are Christians because others after them followed their lead.
[40:04] That we, so many miles, so many kilometers away from where this command was uttered, are now Christians, is because people heeded this call, took on this task.
[40:21] And some will have died in the task. Some will have suffered in the task. Some will have borne it just as the normal way of life that they live.
[40:36] Father, we pray that you would help us to take upon our shoulders their mantle. And this mantle that you put upon your church through the Lord Jesus in this passage.
[40:50] Father, help us to work out in our own individual circumstances, in our own situation in life, what this means for us. But Father, please help us not to neglect it.
[41:03] We pray this so that your son might be glorified in the world. And in the day that he comes again. We pray this in Jesus' name. We pray this in him.
[41:13] We pray this in Jesus' name. Jurn주, eu cinco line um. Wait a Row. I've been warned this in Him. My name on Jesus at Caram distributed as an earth's name. We pray this in Jesus' name.
[41:24] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. The God of us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.inion. Amen. Amen.
[41:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.