Thank you, Ronnie, and thank you, Andrew, for the chosen stress as well. We're turning this morning to the book of Acts and the chapter one. Acts chapter one, and I've titled my message this morning, Jesus is Alive, Now What? Jesus is Alive, Now What? Acts chapter one, reading some verses from the beginning of the chapter. And if you're able to, we'll stand together for the reading of the word of God. Acts chapter 1 in the verse 1. The Word of God says, The former treaties have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen with them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, But wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John shall be baptised with water, but ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. When he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Amen. May the Lord bless the reading of his precious word to our hearts this morning. For his dear name's sake. So after the last 40 days, Jesus had met with his disciples in different ways and in different times, but now it was the time for him to return to the Father. He had told them about this during the years of his public ministry, and even at the Last Supper when he told them that his ascension would be of great benefit to them because the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would follow after him. But throughout his work, there were different times when the disciples didn't fully understand what it was Christ was speaking about, and this was one of those moments. speaking about his ascension. Here in this passage we have Jesus' final words, this scene of time with his 11 disciples after Judas had killed himself. Now this is a great passage for us to refer to, particularly after the Easter period. Last week we remembered more particularly Christ's resurrection. We remembered his crucifixion and his resurrection, but whenever the dust has settled and we progress in our spiritual walk, As I've titled the message, Jesus is Alive, Now What? What is it that we do? What is it that he wants us to be? What kind of people does he want his church to be? What does he want us to be doing? Here we have the disciples gathered together with Jesus. We see some of their actions, we see some of the commands that Jesus makes, and we see some of the rebuke of the angels as well in terms of what it is they ought to be doing and the type of people they ought to be. And so we can take from this passage this morning, we see where it is exactly. We go from here. Jesus is alive. Now what? Well, first of all, we see a people in congregation. A people in congregation. Look at the verse four, the opening words. Being assembled together with them. Even in the verse six. When they therefore were come together. You see the unity that these disciples share. The unity that they share as a people in congregation. They're not out doing their own thing. Remember at the end of John in chapter 21, Peter and the disciples, some of them there were gathered together and Peter decides he's going to go fishing. Well, that mindset started to be driven out of them because here they are gathered together. Here they are come together and assembled together, not out doing their own thing, but here they are in fellowship one with another and indeed with the Lord himself. Well, the Christian life isn't a life that has to be lived alone. It's not to be lived in a hut on our own, twiddling our fingers until he returns or calls us home. But throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we see that fellowship is a key component of our spiritual life and our spiritual walk. In words that I'm sure are familiar to most of us from Ecclesiastes, two are better than one. Because they have a good reward for their labor, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not one to help him up. Fellowship's a key component. We cannot live the spiritual life on our own. We cannot live it just on our own out in the wilderness. But fellowship is a key component. We see the disciples here gathered together. Well, I wonder, is fellowship a key component to us? Is fellowship with God's people something we delight in? Is 11 o'clock on a Sunday morning something we really look forward to? When we can share presence, we can share fellowship with the people of God, giving thanks for the good things that he has done. Or is it like the pastor has said and challenged over the last recent months, are these restrictions very convenient for us? Are these restrictions convenient for you? The writer of the Hebrews challenged the readers there not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. A challenge that has been pushed so many times over these last few months, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching. We have woken up this morning one day closer to the Lord's return. And surely we've woken up this morning and we see the day approaching closer than it was yesterday. We see God moving in this world and surely our redemption draweth now. Surely heaven can't be far away, and so surely we ought to be helping one another, beating it together in fellowship, one with another. But again, they're not just meeting together and being assembled together for the sake of being assembled together. But as they're gathered here, they're meeting each other for encouragement and meeting each other to build each other up after what can only be described as draining days. We think of how the disciples were gathered together. They had followed Christ for three and a half years. And then all of a sudden, one of their own betrays him. And then Christ is taken away by the Roman soldiers. and he's crucified and as if that wasn't draining enough for the disciples they were mourning over the loss of their saviour and they didn't believe he would rise again and well he does rise again and over those 40 days shows himself in different ways and this is a lot for the disciples to take in. It was very draining days for them and so they're meeting together to encourage one another to build each other up and here they are with the saviour as he tells them exactly what it is they're to do in the days ahead. That's a challenge for us, for all of us this morning. In these difficult days, it certainly has been draining for most, if not all of us here this morning, these last five months. Even the strongest of us can be affected in different ways. So are we building each other up? Are you building up others? Are you meeting together to help one another, to exhort one another, to help each other, to encourage one another? Are you using the gifts that God has given you for the help of others? for the expansion of his kingdom, for the building up of his saints, and for the help of one another. See the unity here that the disciples share as they're in congregation. But not only is it unity that they share, but they share understanding as well. Look at the verse three, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs. All these disciples had an understanding that they shared. They all had an encounter with the risen savior. They all met together and their fellowship was based on having an encounter and a fellowship with the risen saviour. We've all had an encounter with the risen saviour this morning if we're saved, but has he truly shaped us? Now, even though, again, at the end of John chapter 21, Peter had seen the risen Lord, Peter had seen the hands and the feet. He had been with him times before. This was the third time that Christ was gonna show himself to Peter, but Peter still hasn't really been shaped and hasn't really been convicted about a risen Savior because he still goes out fishing. He doesn't really know what to do. Maybe there's one like that this morning. You're convinced you're saved. And there's no doubt in the Lord's mind that you're safe, but that encounter with the risen saviour hasn't really been a major shaping in your life. Like Peter, you're still going out to fish. You're still going out doing those old things that you used to do before you met the saviour. Do you share that understanding? Do you share that fellowship and the basis of that fellowship in knowing and having an encounter with the risen saviour? But here they are, their understanding is shared here, and they're sharing in these spiritual truths. They're sharing in the fellowship and the knowledge of the Savior. Again, at the end of the verse three, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. This was another reason for their fellowship, for building up one another, and they're also sharing in the wonderful truths of the kingdom of God, equipping one another, building up each other in the truth. that they have known. And this isn't only for a moment because after the day of Pentecost, as the church begins to grow at the ends of Acts chapter two, Luke records that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship and in the breaking of bread and in prayers. This was something that was set up to each fellowship that was found after the day of Pentecost. Not only beating together for fellowship's sake, but building up each other in their spiritual walk, continuing in the truth that was laid down to them in fellowship and in the breaking of bread around the Lord's table and in prayers as well. That's the understanding that these people in congregation had and the unity that they had as they met together. But we also see an undertaking that they all shared as well. Look at the end of the verse four. It told them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard. These disciples were to wait for the promise of the Father and they would share in this undertaking. They would all share in this power. Not one of them would miss out. Christ knows exactly what it is he's going to use them for in the coming days. And so he tells them to wait in Jerusalem and wait for this power, this promise from the Father. They couldn't do all of this in their own strength. They tried to do some of those things in their own strength. Before when Jesus had sent them out into different cities and they came back to him and they said, Lord, we couldn't do these miracles. Why could we not do them? And Christ told them because of their unbelief, they couldn't do it in their own strength. And so in the days to come, they needed that promise of the father. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit in the days to come. And each one of them would share. in that power. You know, those of us who are saved this morning, we don't have to wait for that promise. We don't have to wait for a particular day. But the moment we're saved, the word of God makes it clear that the Holy Spirit dwells inside us. This promise of the Father is already with us from the moment we confess faith in Christ. Paul explains to the Romans, in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. It's already there. That promise, that power that we need to fulfill whatever it is Christ has for us to do, it's already there. It's already within us. We don't have to wait for a specific day. We don't have to wait for a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It's all already there. That's a wonderful blessing we have this morning. We already have the power that Christ uses for us to do the things he has for us to do. And even thinking of this promise of the Father, this is something that those who had gone before could only dream of. Whenever you read the Old Testament, God poured out his Spirit on certain individuals for different tasks and for different roles. And sometimes it was taken away, but for a whole nation, that wasn't seen before. It was only put out on individuals. And so this is why this promise of the Father, this coming of the Holy Spirit on all those who believe, this was something so magnificent. This is something that the disciples couldn't fully understand. In fact, whenever you think about that prophecy in Joel, that's why that prophecy is so important. How Joel told his readers that it will come to pass that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. And on that day of Pentecost Peter tells those who are listening to him that this is this prophecy fulfilled. This is the first fruits of that prophecy being fulfilled. God pouring out his spirit on all flesh. This is something that the Old Testament people could only dream of. What a wonderful blessing we have this morning. How God is fulfilling this prophecy even on us this morning. We're all playing our part in the kingdom of God. What a wonderful blessing we have that God is using us for the expansion of his kingdom. We see a people in congregation. Secondly, we see a people in confusion. Now people in confusion, look at the verse six. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? People in confusion, we see the concern that they have. They come to the Savior on that day and they ask him, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? they still believed that God had unfinished business. And in some sense they were taken up with what the world around them at the time thought Christ had come to do. On that Palm Sunday when Christ entered into Jerusalem and they thought that this was going to be the moment that Christ had come to deliver Israel from its enemies, not necessarily spiritual but physical. And they thought that Christ had come to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans and as the days go by and he doesn't really do anything they start to get a bit confused. The disciples here in some sense were still a bit confused. They thought that Christ had come to fulfill and to restore again the national physical kingdom to Israel. They certainly believed that God still had a prophecy to fulfill. They thought that Jesus was the one that was going to do it. And they did have basis for that promise. It wasn't a foolish question for them to ask. They certainly knew the promises of God. They certainly knew the prophecies that God still needed to fulfill. The promise of Ezekiel. is one of the ones they're referring to. Ezekiel prophesied that I will put my spirit within you, cause you to walk in my statutes, keep my judgments, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. They were still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled in some sense. And the disciples thought that before Jesus went back to the father that he was going to do that. They believed that this was still part of this new covenant that he had instituted. And so whenever Christ tells him of this promise of the Father, that he's going to do some work in them, he's going to still spiritually bless the people around them, that since they saw the spiritual coming, they thought the national wasn't far away. And they were right in some sense, but the spiritual blessing, the spiritual change has to come first. The spiritual change has to come before any national change can come. This is still the basis that God uses across the world. This is the key to any nation. There can be no national change without a spiritual change. There can be no national change without a spiritual revival. And so it shouldn't surprise us that there's no peace in a rebellious land. It shouldn't surprise us that there's no peace in a rebellious land. In Psalm 2, David speaks about the nations that try to rebel against the Lord. to do away with the Lord and his anointed and to build themselves up. This is how God reacts to them in the Psalm 2. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then he shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. As if we're any challenge to God. as if any laws that whatever government puts through is any challenge to the Lord. He'll sit in the heavens and laugh and have them in derision. And you can certainly say we're not far from that point, if we're maybe in that point already. The Lord shall have them in derision. There's no spiritual change, or there's no national change, rather, without spiritual change. That's a concern that these disciples have in their confusion, but Christ gives them a correction to their confusion. This is his response to them in the verse 7. He said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father hath put in his own power. He reminds them that this physical restoration, this national restoration, whatever way it was going to take, it was in God's power. It was in the Lord's hand. This wasn't something that these disciples were to do themselves. It was in the will of God. And he would fulfill that in his own time. Because if Christ really was to tell these disciples the truth, then they would be very discouraged. If Christ was to tell them that it would be at least 2,000 years from then that Christ would restore the physical kingdom to Israel, then they'd be awfully discouraged. and that wouldn't start them well in the work that he had for them to do. Christ held back the future from them to keep them focused on the there and now. It says in Proverbs chapter 25, it's the glory of God to conceal a thing. It's the glory of God to conceal a thing. And sometimes God will hold back from us future days and what's going to happen in future days to keep us focused on the here and now. We can be so focused on praying for tomorrow and praying for the weeks and months to come. And yes, that has its place. We do certainly need God's help in the days and months to come. But doesn't Christ remind his disciples, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Focus on today. Keep yourself focused on what God has for you today, rather than something you don't know about in the months to come that could well be 2,000 years from now, should he tarry. Focus on the here and now. But even though these are people in confusion, God doesn't give them up. because of their lack of understanding. Certainly Christ has so much patience with his disciples, even after three and a half years, and there were different things that the disciples didn't fully understand, even to the point now where he's going back to the father after he had died and risen from the dead, and they're still asking him these things that they don't really understand. Christ doesn't give them up. He doesn't react in anger and in negative terms in that way, but he still has patience with them. He knows that this promise of the Father will help them in the days to come. He knows the Holy Spirit will undertake for their weaknesses. He knows the Holy Spirit will make up for their lack of understanding. Well, maybe there's some believer here this morning or listening in online, and they're maybe thinking that their lack of understanding means that God can't really use them at the moment. If you're waiting for perfect knowledge, you'll be waiting a long time. If you're waiting to fully understand the entire things relating to God, you'll not know all of that till you get to eternity. The Holy Spirit undertakes for those who are in their weakness, those who are perhaps even in their immaturity, those who are young in the spiritual walk. God can still use them. God can still use them. in a mighty way and in a powerful way. Even Paul, whenever he's writing to the Corinthians, Paul, the great apostle, he wrote to all these different churches and to different individuals. He even admitted himself, we knew in part, we prophesy in part, we don't yet fully know it all. And still God uses Paul, still God uses those churches that Paul's writing to. God has such patience with his people. He knows our frame, he knows we are but dust. He knows we're weak and that's why he says that his strength is made perfect in weakness. And whenever again, Paul at the start of Corinthians, Paul talks about how the weak things and the foolish things, the base things, God uses to confound the wise, to confound the things that are mighty. Even though some of us this morning are still people in confusion relating to some spiritual things, God makes it clear that the Holy Spirit undertakes for that. He knows our weaknesses and he can still use us mightily in the days to come. People in congregation, A people in confusion. And then thirdly, we see a people with commission. A people with commission. This is the type of people that God requires his people to be. This is the verse that's familiar to most, if not all of us here. Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and into Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. This is the commission, the great commission that Christ has given to the disciples. And we see the capability that Christ gives to these people in terms of how they're going to fulfill this commission. Ye shall receive power. The Holy Spirit, this comforter that's going to come. Ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you. These disciples, they had this national physical sense of a kingdom still on their minds and so God's bringing them to the true understanding that it's a spiritual help, it's a spiritual fight that they're going to be involved in. They're not going to be left alone under the Roman rule for however long Christ tarried, for however long God intended for the Romans to rule over the land. They weren't going to be left under the Roman occupation on their own. without any power, but they will be gifted with power from above. God brings them back to the focus. This is a spiritual battle. This is a spiritual calling. It's a spiritual fight. Paul reminds his believers as well in Ephesians, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our fight isn't against national powers, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The people on the hill aren't our enemy. It's the ones that are in the spiritual high places. They're the ones that we're fighting against. It's a spiritual battle and we need spiritual power for these days ahead. That's our priority this morning. That's our focus and that's our fight with the capability that Christ has given to us. Focus on the Holy Spirit. Focus on the power that we have from him to fulfill the will that he has for us to do. and we see then the calling of this commission. This is what it is that Christ wants for his people to do in the days ahead. Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Ye shall be witnesses unto me. This is what Christ wanted these disciples to do in the days ahead. This was their calling, to be witnesses They had seen the risen saviour. They were literal witnesses of a resurrected saviour. And so they were to share this witness with others around them. And they knew exactly what had happened. That's why the gospels are written. They are written as a witness. And even as they lived out their daily lives, and whatever it is God had called for them to do, as you read through the book of Acts, God uses his people to build his church. This is a calling to be witnesses unto him. It brings it back to that point of the unity and the understanding that they shared in congregation. They had witnessed a risen saviour. That was the basis of their fellowship. And as they go out into this world, that's the basis of their calling, that they had seen the risen saviour. They had a fellowship with a risen Lord. And we cannot be witnesses of a risen Lord if we don't yet know him. That's the challenge to all of us here this morning. Do we really know the risen savior? Do we really know a life changed by Jesus Christ? Can we, like Paul said to the Galatians, are we able to say, I am crucified with Christ, that I don't live, but Christ lives in me, that the life I now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Are we able to say that? Are we dead to ourselves? Are we witnesses of a risen savior who uses us for his glory? This word that's used for witnesses here in Acts chapter one, verse eight, it can also be translated as record, witness or record, something that's revealing of truth, something that is written down truth, something that tells the truth and is shared with others. This is the role that the disciples were to be, not only physical witnesses and verbal witnesses, but to be a record, to be convicted of this truth and to share this truth with others around them. Jesus even told his disciples on the Sermon on the Mount. I've written down the wrong reference, forgive me. He told his disciples on the Sermon on the Mount to let their light shine before men. Not only let their light shine before men, but the result of that is that they may glorify God, see their good works, and glorify the Father in heaven. That's the record the disciples were to be. To shine their light, that others may see their good works, and as a result of that glorify our Father in heaven. We often say that the life and the record and the witness of a believer is sometimes the only Bible the world can ever read. So is your record going to be God's tool for salvation to somebody around you? Maybe your own witness, your own testimony might just be the thing that draws somebody to the Savior. And so again, the challenge, the question is posed to all of us this morning, if that is the case, then are we a faithful witness? Are we a faithful record to all that God is and what he has done, what he can do in our life? Are we faithful to the gospel? Are we faithful to the son of God who has loved us and gave himself for us? Are we a true witness of the resurrecting power of God that can change a life and use it for his glory? But not only can it be a witness or a record, but in other places in the scripture, this word that's used for witness is translated as martyr. A living witness even onto death. Throughout the letters that John writes on behalf of Christ to the churches in Revelation, he encourages the believers to be faithful unto death, and he will give them the crown of life. Be faithful unto death. Again, Jesus tells the disciples that if any man comes after him, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The Christian life is a call to self-denial. It's a lifelong commitment even unto death. That's the challenge. That's the calling. That's the commission that Jesus was giving his disciples here. He's telling them this is a lifelong calling. This is a lifelong commission. There's no early retirement in the Christian life. There's no retirement at all in the Christian life. This is something you take through till your final breath. This is what it was that Christ wanted his disciples, both then and indeed us today, to be. This isn't something we can pick up and leave behind at our own convenience. Christian life isn't a game to be played with, but it's a lifelong commitment, even on to death. Whether it's a martyr's death or even if it's a natural death, this is something we're to be faithful to. all the days of our lives. That's the calling in this commission, but we also see some of the challenges that this commission poses to the disciples as well, because Christ tells them exactly where he's going to use them in the days to come. He shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and onto the uttermost part of the earth. This is beginning in Jerusalem. And in the next chapter, God uses him in Jerusalem on that wonderful day of Pentecost. And then the chapters after that, they're focused on Jerusalem. And then it spreads after persecution comes to Jerusalem to go into Judea and Samaria. And then after that, to the uttermost part of the earth. But there's a good principle here involved. Not only in terms of the disciples' commission, not only in terms of missionary work, but even in our own spiritual life, as we fulfill this calling that God has given to his people, there's a good principle here to follow. Christ tells them to begin in Jerusalem. In other words, the local places. The place that they had labored in, the place that they had grown up in, this is where they were to serve the Lord first, in the local place. And after they were used in the local place, God would use them elsewhere. God expects us to be serving him wherever it is we are this morning. In whatever circumstance, whatever situation we find ourselves in, God expects us to labor for him there first. Even if it's among our family who aren't saved, our friends who aren't saved, those who are in school and uni around us who aren't saved, those who are in our workplace that aren't saved. Beginning at Jerusalem, that's our Jerusalem. That's the local place, that's the starting point. Sometimes there are people who have the big ideas and the grand ideas that God's going to take them over land and sea and God's going to use them mightily and maybe he does. but Christ intends for his people to begin at their Jerusalem. Christ warned his disciples in Luke chapter 16, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. In other words, if you're not serving the Lord where you are, how can God expect to use you in the bigger things? If you're not being faithful to the Lord where you are in the smaller things, how do you think God's gonna trust you in the bigger things? God wants his people to prove himself where they are, that he can use them where they are, and then in the days to come towards Judea, to Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the world, to the broader pictures of life, beginning in the local places, and then expanding into Judea, and then into Samaria. Now, Samaria, whenever the disciples hear these words, they start to cringe. The tensions between the Jews and the Samaritans, you read of the parable of the good Samaritan, that's why it blows people's minds back then, that there could be such a thing as a good Samaritan. This is the uncomfortable place that the disciples were going to go into. They were going to have to go into Samaria and share the gospel with people that they despised and people that despised them back to go into the uncomfortable places. Serving the Lord isn't always going to be an easy ride. God may often take his people into uncomfortable places, and places that you wouldn't necessarily think need to be covered, and take you to places that you don't want to go to. There's a story of a man, and he was praying for the Lord's will, and he ended up being a missionary, and he led himself and submitted himself to the Lord, and he says, Lord, I will go absolutely anywhere in the world for you except China. And God said to him, it's funny you mention China, because that's exactly where I want you to go. God had to wrestle with him, and eventually he yielded, and God used him mightily. But God can use his people, and God can move his people to uncomfortable places. Is God taking you out of your comfort zone this morning? Is God wanting to take you out of your comfort zone? Is God trying to lead you to people, different kinds of people that you're used to? Maybe God's asking you to invite someone you don't usually talk to to the drive-in. or even to make it more personal this morning. Maybe God's asking you to witness to someone who's hurt you in the past. Maybe there's a Samaritan in your life, and like the parable of the good Samaritan baffled the people that listened to them, maybe you're feeling a bit uncomfortable in sharing the gospel with them this morning. Where's your Samaria? Who's your Samaritan? Being witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem in Algeria and Samaria, and then once that's covered, they go into the uttermost parts of the earth. We ought to give thanks this morning for the faithfulness of those who have gone before, who have been able to spread this message of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. We give thanks for a man called Saul who was transformed on that Damascus road, who was changed to Paul became a wonderful servant of the Lord. Give thanks that he went to a woman called Lydia. Give thanks that she's recorded as the first gospel witness to Europe. And how are those who have gone before have went all around Europe and it's come to her fervent. How we ought to give thanks for the faithfulness of those who have gone before. And how even to this day Christ is fulfilling this uttermost part of the earth. Even to this very day. You know, those names that have faded into insignificance in human understanding from the years that have gone by, those names that we will never know until we reach the other side of glory, that have been faithful witnesses for the Lord and bringing the gospel to these uttermost parts, even to our very doorstep. People often talk about Charles Burgeon's Sunday school teacher. Who was she? Who was he? We don't know the name. Or even she was used in such a mighty way. to bring up a young man in the faith who impacted the lives of many people. I wonder what role God has for you in the spread of the gospel. Even in the uttermost parts of the earth, in a place where you may feel very insignificant, in a place where your role may seem so small, it's all in the plan of God's redemption story. It's all in the plan, it's all in the will of God. To see a people commissioned, to see a people with confusion, a people in congregation. And lastly, this morning, we see a people with confirmation. After Christ gives his commission in the verse nine, when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received them out of their sight. Christ ascends to heaven after he gives his commission, then onto the, into the verse 11. The angels come down to meet these disciples. In the verse 11, they said unto them, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? After Christ descends, the disciples are still looking steadfastly towards heaven. After the cloud receives Christ out of their sight, they're still standing up, gazing into the sky. And so two angels have to come down and remind them of what it is they're meant to be doing. Why stand ye gazing into heaven? Even though Christ ascended, they were perhaps expecting an immediate return. Expecting Christ just to come back down right away and to carry on the work that they've been doing. But now they have to be reminded this is the next stage. This is the next step. Why stand ye gazing into heaven? Focus on the work that you've been called to do. Remind and tell the people wherever it is you meet that as Christ came the first time, he's coming back again. Paul certainly does that in the epistles, reminds the people that Christ is coming again. We can be so focused and have so many ideas about how Christ is coming back and when he's coming back and what exactly all is going to happen whenever he comes back. And yes, they have their place, but sometimes, as the disciples did here, believers are in the danger of being the type of people that Johnny Cash used to sing about, being so heavenly minded. you have no earthly good. And being so focused on the things to come, like we thought about earlier, to be focused on the here and now. Focusing on the here and now, focusing on the work that God has called for us to do. Yes, we anticipate Christ coming and we long for it more and more as each day passes, but we still have a work to do. we still have a commission to be fulfilled. That's the disciples' anticipation. They were expecting an immediate return, but the angels give these people assurance in these wonderful words that ought to be such great comfort and great blessing to God's people this morning. This same Jesus, which is taken up from you, this same Jesus, the one who had calmed the storms around them, the one who had healed them, the one who had prayed for them, the one who came to this earth to die for them, the one who rose from the dead for them, the one who just ascended to the right hand of the Father to ever live and intercede and plead for them, this same Jesus. As it was taken up into heaven shall soon come in like manner, this same Jesus, the one who has saved us, the one who has loved us and washed us from sin, the one who gave himself for us, the one who has been with us every step of life through this same Jesus, is coming back for you and me. That wonderful promise that Jesus gave to his disciples at the last summer, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. He's made it certain, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. What wonderful reminder we have this morning that Jesus Christ is coming again. that as he came into this earth before, he's coming again. The angels even say, as he is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. One of the commentators really spelled this out, and how Jesus Christ will come again in the same manner as he was taken up. He'll come physically. He'll come visibly. He'll come in the presence of his people. and he'll come blessing his people. What a wonderful day we have to look forward to when Jesus Christ comes again for his people. What a wonderful day that's going to be. We as God's people, we have a wonderful day to look forward to, but yes, we have a calling to fulfill. We have a commission here to fulfill. We have to be a people in congregation. And even though we may be people in confusion, we are a people with commission. And thank the Lord we are a people with certainty. that our labor is not going to be in vain because Jesus Christ is coming again. Maybe there's one here this morning or whether it's listening in online, are you ready for that coming? Are you ready for Jesus Christ to come again? The Bible makes it clear that there's going to be a day where it is too late. And a Slim Whitman, the old country singer, he sang a gospel song as well called The Great Judgment Morning. And the chorus of that song is, oh, what a weeping and wailing as the lost were told of their fate. They cried for the rocks and the mountains and they prayed, but their prayer was too late. There's a day coming where it could be well too late. If you're not safe, give your life over to the Lord. Know the joy of sins forgiven this morning and play your part in this great commission that Christ has for his people. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we give thee thanks for thy word this morning. Pray you would write it and bless it upon each and every heart. Lord, you know the roles you have for each of your people to play and the great scheme that you have for this world and the great plan that you have for all mankind. And Father, we pray that we would be willing to play that role. As one used to pray of old, Lord, if I'm not willing, make me willing to be made willing. Father, use us for the expansion of your kingdom, for the encouragement of your saints. And Lord, in the days to come, as we see a band of thy people submitted to the will of the Father, surely we ought to see fruit for our labour and see such a moving hand of God across this land, even in this little area of ours, that there would be cause for great rejoicing, not only of souls being saved, but even for the presence of God being amongst his people. Father, we pray for those who must leave now. take them to our homes in safety and as we gather around the table, may we have a blessed time, for we ask it in the Saviour's precious and holy name. Amen.