Good morning. Yes. If you have your Bible handy, and I am hopeful you do, please open to the first chapter of the book of Acts. All right, this morning I trust in the will of God and by the grace of God we will begin a journey through a pretty hefty book of our New Testament, the book of Acts, all 28 chapters worth, but not this morning. This morning we'll be in verses 1 through 3 of chapter 1. Well, let me read the text. It is the living Word of God, and you really should hear it as such. Acts 1, verses 1 through 3, in the first book, O Theophilus. I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. Pray with me. Father, we commit this time to you. It's for your church here, the beginning of a new journey together, and we ask for your grace. And we ask, Lord, even for mercy drops that you would in the Scripture speak to us. conforming us into the image of Christ, making us better equipped and more faithful soldiers of the cross, and building this church up in the most holy faith. We pray at the outset of this precious New Testament book, O Lord, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. I absolutely love the book of Acts. Having read it many dozens of times over the years of my Christianity, 28 years I've been walking with the Lord now, having preached more than a dozen sermons from various texts in this book, my appreciation for the book of Acts has only grown with time and study and attention. I love the book of Acts. I owe part of my love for this book of the Bible to my grandfather-in-law, Carl Ray. I have no doubt, though he is in the presence of Christ now, dying in 2017, now with the Lord, I have no doubt this was one of his favorite books in the Bible, if not his favorite book of the Bible. And whether through osmosis or spending a lot of time with that godly man, I don't know, but it has rubbed off on me. I love the book of Acts. And to this day, I remain fascinated at how relevant a book this is. How relevant and how necessary for the church today, even as it was relevant and necessary in the latter half of the first century. Now, you must understand something, saints, as to the relevance of a book like this. We are living in a post-Christian culture. Whether you think that way or not, it's really just the facts, and it's increasingly becoming more plain that it's the facts. So, not so much a matter of interpretation or opinion, but the data shows as much. Just this week, I came across a recent Barna study, and it seems that America's, quote, moral majority has shrunk down to about the size of a pea. This has all happened within a few short decades, it seems, and now the modern church of this country finds herself engulfed in flames of theological confusion and tremendous syncretism. I'll define that word in a moment. Syncretism, if that's new to you, is simply a kind of false spirituality that can take a little bit of this religion, a little bit of this spiritual belief, and throw it all together and mix it up a little bit, and somehow then you're a spiritual man, a spiritual woman in right standing before some God somewhere. syncretism, as though you're syncing different beliefs together, formulating your own system. So America, I believe, is a land of a million different religions, not just a few. According to this most recent Barna survey, February of 2024, rather recent, I'll quote, the overwhelming majority of American adults It says, 92% of them, that is overwhelming, 92% of them embrace a worldview known as syncretism, a fusion of disparate ideologies, beliefs, behaviors, and principles culled from a variety of competing worldviews into a customized blend. That's how Barna defines syncretism. 92%. Biblical theism comes in at a not so strong second place with 4% of American adults claiming to adhere to a biblical theism, 4%. This same bit of research showed that even amongst those who claim to be Protestants in America, right, let's move aside other quote Christian denominations, but those that claim to be Protestants in America, only 9% of that number affirm a biblical worldview. Ouch. Again, I say, welcome to a post-Christian America, saints. What I'm going to endeavor to do then over the months and potentially years to follow in preaching through the book of Acts is to closely consider the church as it is presented to us in this God-breathed book. I trust it'll be a thrilling ride. I know it will for me, and I hope I can communicate that in some part to you. But I trust it'll be a thrilling ride because this book is full of surprises. I mean, think about it, brothers and sisters, humanly speaking. It's entirely impossible for what happens in the book of Acts to happen. Humanly speaking, it's entirely impossible for a ragtag group of disciples with no real estate holdings, no marketing plans, no corporate sponsorships, no technology, really very little going for it. 120 in Acts chapter 1 in an upper room in Jerusalem. It's entirely impossible, humanly speaking, that this group of believers carries a gospel message to a lost and dying world and turns the world, the modern known world, upside down for Jesus Christ. Yeah, it's a book full of surprises. full of things that on a human level make zero sense. That's my God. And that's the book of Acts. This was a faith and a gospel that was brand new in a sense, and yet not new. This was something literally unheard of. what the apostles were going to stand and proclaim. Everything was fresh, the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, it was new. And here these men stand at risk of life proclaiming this new gospel. People that heard such proclamation most of the time despised it. and oftentimes persecuted its messengers. And yet, in spite of such meager beginnings, the church grew and the gospel spread like a wildfire. Out from Jerusalem, an obscure city in a small corner of the world, all the way to Rome, the world's capital, as it were, within a lifetime. not ten generations, not fifty generations, not centuries, but within a lifetime. Dear ones, we very much need to be acquainted with the book of Acts. We need to rediscover and freshly hunger for the great power behind this kind of supernatural growth. We need to thrive then as the early church did thrive in sound doctrine and unwavering conviction and the leadership and the power of the Holy Spirit if ever we're to play our part in continuing to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now, I've divided the remainder of the sermon into two parts. One, a few fundamentals, and two, an entirely new era. A few fundamentals and an entirely new era. Before we even begin to dig into the text, Acts 1, verse 1, I want to make sure you're aware of some of the fundamentals, some of the story and structure of the book. So let's consider these fundamentals and get a grasp on the book of Acts, its background, because it will help us to navigate these 28 chapters to come, a total of 1,007 verses. For starters, the author is widely acknowledged to be Luke. According to Paul's writing to the church at Colossae, chapter four, verse 14, Luke, the beloved physician. You could hear a sermon on this that Philip preached some five and a half years ago on Colossians 4.14 should you choose to do so on Sermon Audio. Luke, the beloved physician. While there are several theories about Luke's background, the general consensus, one that should make every one of us present this morning smile, is that Luke was a God-fearing Gentile. I see some smiles. An early convert to Christianity in the days of the early church. Well, that's significant, but why is that significant? It's significant because this book is a Jewish book in large part, and yet here we have really the predominant writer in terms of volume in the New Testament as a Gentile. That's really good news to me, and I think we will see some of this bleed through. the book itself, particularly when we come to chapter 10. And yes, that will be a while. This also means that Luke, a fellow laborer with the Apostle Paul, was an author who contributed to, if you're interested in percentages, 27% of your New Testament. And that, of course, is just two out of the 27 books of our New Testament, but they are the two really substantial books of our New Testament, the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts. Well, how do we even know that Luke wrote Acts? I just don't want to get into the details of that. You could do a lot of reading and some of it would give you a headache, but there are a number of basic assumptions and ideas that I'll try to very concisely summarize. The earliest manuscript that we have of Luke's gospel, papyrus 75, dates back to the late second century, and at the very end of Luke's gospel, 24 chapters full, there is this inscription, gospel according to Luke. The earliest recorded canon list of New Testament books is the Muratorian canon, dated approximately 170 to 180 A.D., and that canon has Luke as the author of both the gospel and the book of Acts. Lastly, and again from the first two centuries or so of the church, the church father Irenaeus identifies Luke as both the author to the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts. These historical documents then that date very early into the church's life are then coupled with internal evidences between the gospel according to Luke and Acts that indicate it is the same author that wrote these two books. So, there is a sense in which we don't have a better idea anywhere else of who authored these books, and it seems rather fitting with Luke's own narrative, his own travels in the missionary journeys with Paul, the ones that he would have known, been able to interview. He himself in Luke 1 says he was an eyewitness and spoke to eyewitnesses about these things. It makes sense that Luke would have had the ability, seeing what he saw, hearing the stories that he heard from other eyewitnesses, to be able to write an account like this. That is how we land with Luke as the author of this book. His Greek is clean and consistent. The use of pronouns is significant. You will see in the opening chapters of the book of Acts, I. Well, who is I? It's the author of the book that we understand to be Luke. Later, when we get into Paul's missionary journeys, you will see we, and therefore we're understanding that Luke then was traveling with Paul as a fellow laborer and companion. Historians have then concluded, based on this and many other details that we won't get into, that Luke is the book's most likely author. geological and archaeological evidence has proven Luke to be a very capable historian. There have been some liberal men along the way that have tried to debunk Luke's authorship of both the gospel and the book of Acts. That's no surprise. There are many liberal men that try to debunk many Things, and yet history and archaeology have only strengthened the argument that Luke was both author and capable author or historian in writing these books. Uniquely, Luke, probably with the background of a physician having such attention to detail, Luke loves history. Luke loves accurate reporting. When he starts the Gospel of Luke, again, to Theophilus, he emphasizes the accuracy of the testimony that he is writing and providing to this man. Let me give you an idea of what I mean by Luke's love for details. Luke, more than any other New Testament author, names people and places with frequency. Now, why is that important? It's important because we're able then to understand that Luke, in his timeline, actually knew stuff about what was going on and it is equivalent to other stuff we know about that same timeline. So, for example, Luke names more than 100 different names in the book of Acts. Many of them not Christians that he's traveling with, but governing officials and notable figures. Well, this is all stuff that we can use to understand that Luke's accounting of history is accurate because of things that we know about the timeline. He also identifies more than 100 different locations in the book of Acts. Cities, traveling routes, memorable landmarks. And through geology and archaeology, the findings over the centuries were able to determine he was very accurate in his accounting of things. So, this has only bolstered the integrity of this New Testament book as such names and places over time are verified. Now, let me think, let me talk about the timeline for a moment. I'm going to get through this quickly, saints. Bear with me. They have debated whether Luke was written around 60 A.D. or towards the end of the first century. And I'm inclined to go with an earlier dating of Luke, probably between the years of 60 and 64 A.D. That date would coincide with where Luke ends his account in chapter 28, where Paul is under house arrest in Rome. And we understand that to be just before Nero's reign, probably 6263 A.D. Luke doesn't mention the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, A.D. 70. That's another indicator that he wrote this book before that date. Nor does he mention the persecution of the church under Nero's ruthless reign beginning in 64 A.D. Interestingly, the Gospel of Luke covers a space, if you're thinking about timeline, this should be really helpful, of about 33 years. So when you read Acts 1 in your Bible reading plan, and then some days or weeks later come to Acts 28, you might be wondering, was this like 8 or 10 months, 8 or 10 years? 33 years of time elapsed from Acts chapter 1 to Acts chapter 28, which is nearly equivalent to the time period that elapses in Luke's gospel. So between Luke's gospel and Acts 28, you've got about 66 years of first century history, beginning with the incarnation of the Lamb of God and ending with Paul's house arrest and the furtherance of the gospel in the 28th chapter of Acts. Luke has truly given us in two books, not just this one, a treasured possession. In Luke's gospel, a treasured possession of pre-ascension life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts, a tremendous and precious possession of the post-ascension life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Now, what about the title of the book? Have y'all ever wondered the Acts of the Apostles? How did we land there? That is generally what our English Bibles have as the title of the book. In early church history, the volume was often coupled with the gospel according to Luke, and it would simply bear the name of Luke Acts. Two words. Respected theologians throughout the centuries have proposed modified titles because the Acts of the Apostles is not inscripturated. That's just a help to us given by Bible printers globally. They've proposed modified titles. A very common modified title of the book is the Acts of the Holy Spirit. And I like that, hopefully you like that for obvious reasons, right? We're moving from the horizontal plane and the integrity and activity of these men to the one empowering the men. I like that. And yet it still misses the mark when we consider the book's central theme, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, more recently, Derek Thomas, a dear Reformed brother, very close to Jeffrey Thomas that we know and love, suggested the title, The Continuing Ministry of Jesus Christ. I like that. I feel like we're getting somewhere now. And yet, probably among all the suggested titles that I've stumbled onto this week, I like John Stott, and his suggested title, but probably hardly nobody else will. It's a bit too long. I admit it's a bit too Puritan-like for our 21st century taste, but John Stott proposed the continuing words and deeds of Jesus by his spirit through his apostles. Thank you. One of you appreciated that. For efficiency's sake, you know, I'm going to stick with Acts. It's going to save a lot of time over the next many sermons. The genre of Acts is worth noting because oftentimes people consider it in their Bible reading as, wow, this is the historical book. of my New Testament. And that is true. There is a great deal of history, 33 years' worth, as I've already stated. But it's not merely historical narrative that we're reading when we come to the book of Acts. You'd think that it would be because of the locations and the times and the events that Luke is chronicling, but there is a great deal of discourse in the book of Acts. Speeches and sermons. Actually, more than 30% of the book. Nineteen different sermons and speeches that we will encounter throughout the book of Acts. So it's not merely a historical account or a historical sketch. It's history with proclamation. And then Luke's theological interpretation. of these events and sermons and speeches. So how about at least theological historical narrative as to a genre with the glorious addition of 19 sermons and speeches added as a bonus feature. in providing so many sermons, whether in summarized form or in full form, Luke has put before us this hugely strong emphasis on proclamation. And this is another reason why I love the book of Acts. The inclusion of so many sermons in these precious 28 chapters is a sermon to us in itself. What did the New Testament church do? Proclamation of the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit unto Jesus Christ their Lord. While I don't want to get overly technical or detailed, it's worth noting that Luke gives us an outline of the book of Acts, and he does so early on in the first chapter in the first eight verses. Look with me. Acts chapter 1, verse 8. I trust a very familiar verse to you, and for good reason. but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Do you see that there? What Luke does when he records this promise of Jesus Christ to these disciples and apostles in Acts 1.8, he uses this very text for the outline of the remaining verses in this book, 999 of them to be exact. And he chronicles then the powerful activity of the Holy Spirit in the church, propagating salvation and righteousness and grace out from the holy city, Jerusalem, to the nations of this world. All of this activity under the rule and direction and governance of the King of Kings, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ. So as we move through these 28 chapters then, we will see that this is the course the gospel takes, even as prescribed by the Lord of the church. And Luke will follow this trail, the gospel blazing its trail out from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And then there will be these mile markers along the way. in the book of Acts, at least half a dozen of them along the way, where Luke will give us progress reports. And he will highlight the growth of the church at these various intervals and show us the powerful efficacy of the preached Word. An example of this, the first we will actually encounter sometime from now, Acts chapter 6 verse 7. And the word of the Lord continued to increase. And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Mile marker number one. And we're gonna see then a transition out from Jerusalem. to Judea and then Samaria and the ends of the earth. Lastly, as to the fundamentals, thank you for bearing with me. I believe when we take this precious book as a whole, Luke's primary purpose in writing Acts is his same purpose as when he wrote Luke. Let me read you the opening verses of Luke's gospel by way of reminder. The first four verses, inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us. Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Well, what's his purpose then? He is writing to a man, Theophilus, meaning loved by God or lover of God. He is writing to this man an orderly, convincing, accurate account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke takes place before Christ ascended into heaven. Acts takes place After Christ has ascended into heaven so you could see the relationship now between Luke and Acts when in Acts 1 we read in the first book O Theophilus the gospel according to Luke I have dealt with all Jesus began to do and teach in Luke's gospel We have His earthly ministry set before us. In Acts, we have His continuing heavenly ministry set before us at the right hand of His Father in glory. The transition from Luke to Acts turns on the hinge of the ascension of Jesus Christ. And though a popular notion, I think it is mistaken at the end of the day. Many who study the book of Acts end up focusing upon the labors of the men involved in the book of Acts, the apostles, these dear men that we so admire and appreciate. Others that study the book of Acts end up focusing on honing in on the work of the Holy Spirit. None of these things are wrong. I think both of those things miss the central point and theme. Luke begins this book and ends it in the very same way. His focus is centrally and forever fixed on the person of Jesus Christ. We see that, Acts 1.1, we've already read it, but look, all that Jesus began to do and teach. Well, how does the book end? You could turn there. I'm going to read it to you. Acts 28 verse 31, the very last verse of the book, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. He ends the way he begins, and his focus throughout is chiefly on the Lord Jesus Christ, ruling, reigning at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And this emphasis is entirely fitting because saints, the ascension, and we will certainly be discussing this theme in weeks to come, the ascension didn't diminish Jesus. It didn't cut down His ministry, no, it radically enhanced it. It radically exalted Him. He is the Lord of the church. And you will never rightly understand the church, its origin or its purpose if you do not rightly understand the person of Jesus Christ. Now, we've covered some fundamentals. Maybe you learned a thing or two about the book of Acts and Luke that you didn't know. Amen. An entirely new era. Try, saints, try to put yourself in that upper room assembly. 120 believers there in Jerusalem. doing exactly what Jesus told them to do. Try to put yourself there. Remember that these very disciples had encountered the resurrected Jesus on a number of occasions. The last occasion in Luke's gospel involved them, a group of them, sitting down to a meal of broiled fish with the Lord Jesus Christ, followed by a brief discourse. I'll read this to you, Luke 24, picking up in verse 44 to the very end of Luke's gospel. Then He said to them, Jesus, to this gathered group of disciples, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then, I love this, then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Marvelous. And said to them, thus it is written, that Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. That ought to sound pretty familiar to Acts chapter 1 verse 8. He then says, you are witnesses of these things. Now the final paragraph of Luke's gospel. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, blessing God. Period. The end. But by no means the end. So gathered in that upper room, Acts chapter one. Are these obedient? And expectant saints doing what Jesus told them to do their waiting, praying with longings and expectation to be clothed with the promise of the father power from on high. This is only further confirmed when we turn the page to Acts chapter 1. These men and women whose minds have been opened to understand the scriptures, they're there, they're praying together. Ten days from the time of the ascension of Jesus to the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2. They don't know quite what's to come, but here they are obedient and expectant. Beloved, this is something of the tension and even the excitement of the moment in Acts chapter 1. A new era is about to dawn, and we get this brief biographical kind of glimpse into the days and events leading up to it all. Absolutely amazing, a treasured gift indeed. Now, there are several observations that I want to make about these opening three verses in Acts 1, and then we'll conclude. As already noted and based on the opening verse, Acts 1, 1, it becomes clear that Luke is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ still. He ends with the picture of Jesus ascending into heaven, and he opens part two, the book of Acts, with Jesus. His objective in writing this part two of sorts remains the same. Theophilus needed to see the ministry of the Lord Jesus in the earth, Luke's gospel. Theophilus also needed to see the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, the book of Acts. So when we come through verse 1 into verse 2, there's something quite noteworthy I want you to see. Acts chapter 1 verse 2, look at the text, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. Several phrases there stacked upon each other, and the meaning is this, Jesus Christ determined to use men. This, brothers, should carry us right back to the weekend that we have enjoyed together. Jesus Christ, from verse 2 forward, we see it clearly, determined to use men. Men that He would commission, men and women that He would empower for the task at hand. Before His ascension into heaven, Jesus had taken precious time to be with these men. We know that the grouping of the twelve, He had spent approximately two to three years with these men, these mere mortals, these foolish and ignorant and sinful human beings. And then He commissions them in this glorious task, so that we could summarize it something like this. Foolish men, brothers, you may remember this yesterday, foolish men will take a foolish message to a lost and foolish world. But men and women, the people of the church, the body of Christ, they will be the ones employed in this gospel mission overseen and governed by the ascended Lord. To the afformed Bible reader, this isn't a huge surprise. We're like, sure, we know God has been using men from the beginning. And understand, I mean men and women. It should still boggle the mind that God would allow the likes of us, foolish sinners, to carry his gospel to the world. It should still boggle the mind, it should still cause the heart to skip a beat that God would ever include the likes of us in his gospel and redemptive plans. What a mighty privilege. Truly, serving Jesus Christ, brother, sister, serving Jesus Christ is the privilege of all privileges. And if you've lost touch with that, if that statement doesn't sit well with you, you need to examine yourself. And then you just need to repent. Because your heart is not right before God. If Jesus Christ, as we heard from Matthew to the children this morning, if His name, if hearing about Him doesn't cause joy to rise up in your heart, if you don't suddenly feel I'm a blessed man because I'm in Christ, I am so blessed to have Him as Lord and Savior, something's bad wrong. You've made a wrong turn somewhere. and your priorities are no longer the Lord's priorities, and you got a problem. That's never gonna do. So consider this then, and return to the Lord, for He graciously and abundantly pardons. Thank, dear ones, thank. What a wonder. that God chose, that the Lord Jesus Christ appointed what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. He chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. He chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to shame the things that are. And because He chose people like us, flawed and foolish as we are, we get a raw and real glimpse into the life of the early church. Wonders, warts, and all. The book of Acts. I really like what Dennis Johnson says here. Acts is full of people who don't get along, who don't catch on, and who don't always rise eagerly to the challenges of discipleship. But on the other hand, this history is also real in demonstrating the powerful impact of Jesus, risen and enthroned at work among these flawed people by the Holy Spirit's quiet but invincible strength. I like that. Now, another observation about these opening verses, one that makes me joyful, really joyful, and feeling the privilege myself of being able to journey through this book with you. Brothers and sisters, Acts 1.1, things are just getting started. I mean, they're just getting started. This new era is about to get underway. Things hard to describe are about to happen, and the entire world will never be the same. You read the gospels, and you think, wow, this man, Jesus, he's powerful. He casts out demons, and he heals the sick, and he even raises the dead. But now, the ascended Lord of glory is still working. And it's like you ain't seen nothing yet. As I said earlier, it's worth repeating, the great transition from the gospel according to Luke into the book of Acts turns on the hinge of Christ's ascension. And Luke is going to give the ascension more attention than any other New Testament author. And he does so for the critically important reason of connecting certain dots. You see, just because Jesus is now seated at the right hand of his father in glory, just because he's there doesn't mean he isn't leading and governing and working out all his purposes perfectly in the earth. Not only does the story not end with the ascension, right? The Lord drifting upward into the clouds, out of their sight. No, not only does it not end there, a whole new and glorious chapter begins. And it's still being written today. Jesus continues to dominate His foes. Jesus continues to save a people for Himself. Jesus continues to accomplish all His holy purposes, unthwarted by man. Nothing is impossible to this risen and exalted Lord. He will redeem fallen men and women and add them to His church and continue expanding His kingdom throughout the earth. I love how frankly and simply Calvin expresses this. He says spatial distance does not prevent Christ from being always present with His own just as He promised. Saints, this is a book that will help you to understand more about Christ's continued presence among his people, as well as his empowering of his church to accomplish his purposes. Acts will be a real help to us there. Yes, when we come to the book of Acts, when we observe the 120 in that upper room, when we see them fervently and expectantly praying together, things are about to be shaken. Things are about to really start happening on a whole new level. And so it is that the book of Acts both asks and answers this question. How did a small, uneducated band of believers, the church in its very infancy, become so bold and so confident in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth? The book of Acts is going to answer that question for us. We will see in Acts the beginnings of the fulfillment of Psalm 2, verse 8, Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. We will see it beginning to be fulfilled in these pages. We will see Jesus fulfilling his own promise to build his church and the gates of hell won't prevail against her. Matthew 16, 18. Indeed, he will empower his church to withstand the sustained and aggressive and mounting opposition, opposition empowered by the forces of darkness. Yet his church will still stand. My last observation is this, when we take these opening three verses together, they stand as a solid reminder to us that there is only and ever one gospel for the world, only and ever one. Jesus Christ is the central, unendingly central figure of redemptive history in Scripture. I think we see that in verse 1, all that Jesus began to do and teach, it's all about Him. It all hovers around Him. until the day when He was taken up," verse 2. Indeed, we serve, dear ones, the ascended and enthroned Lord of the universe. Only one gospel. The apostles were His chosen force to lead the charge of carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. Also, verse 2, all unto and under the Lord Jesus. The apostles then are a significant part of the foundation of the church, Ephesians 2.20. all by the government of Jesus Christ. He presented Himself alive to them. Yes, we also serve a resurrected Lord, the one whose sacrificial death, His atonement for sins was accepted, His perfect life and substitutionary death vindicated, how? By an empty tomb. Verse 3, Jesus, the central figure of the whole thing. and His resurrection is attested to by at least ten different documented occasions where He was seen and interacted with and eaten with by individuals or groups of people. Also, verse 3, saints, these are the stepping stones of the gospel. This is 1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 3 like. This is the gospel. This is based on facts and history. This is no mystical thing, Christianity. This is factual. This stuff happened. As much as you and I are alive today, Jesus did and taught what He did and taught. It's the facts. Christianity is no good piece of fiction. Christianity is a fact. It's a fact rooted in actual history. It is factual that can be documented and defensible. And the Christian church is one of the most vital parts of human history over the past two thousand years. You really can't even begin to understand unfolding history over the past two millennia without understanding the impact and influence of Christ's church in the earth. Do you believe this? Is this your firm conviction? Is the gospel of Jesus Christ something you're willing and ready to lay down your life for? This should be a firm conviction in each and every believer. In weakness and in much trembling, You may stand before an accuser one day, life on the line, much like Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, but upheld by Christ, you'll stand. Is this your firm conviction? This is why the book of Acts is so needed and helpful for today. We will see this kind of Christian conviction lived out, even unto death in some cases, glorious cases those are. We will see steadfast faith and enduring hope and true resolve being lived out in the flawed lives of sinful men and women in these 28 chapters, and all of it because the power of Christ is flowing to and through these weak and needy ones. And we'll take it in, and it'll be marvelous in our eyes. Our gospel, contrary to what the world may think, is not a message of societal reform. It's not merely a system of ethics, nor is it one of many roads to heaven. No, it's the life-giving story of the glorious person of Jesus Christ. And when you meet him, Everything changes. I so appreciate these pointed questions from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Is the gospel the most amazing and astounding thing that happened or ever will happen? Good question. Is it the thing by which you live, the thing you long to know and experience more and more? It's a good question. Do you realize now, he says in this opening sermon in Acts, do you realize now that the essence of Christianity is not that it calls you to do something, but rather that it tells you what Jesus Christ came into the world to do for you? Heart-searching questions. Consider them. Answer them. Saints, this is all my Christianity. The living Jesus Christ who came in power, who condescended and took on flesh, the very Christ who possesses all power, the very Christ who powerfully works for the sake of his name in saving a people for himself. This is my Christianity. And it centers around this one person. Christianity is not some program or political machine or morality manual. It's the living Christ doing awesome deeds in the earth then and now. Welcome, beloved, to the book of Acts. Pray with me. Father, so mighty are the Scriptures, and yet so necessary is the activity of the Holy Spirit to make us delight in these Scriptures, to make us see what with mere human eyes we cannot see. So, Lord, at the outset, we plead for mercy showers. We plead for illumination. We plead for the activity of the Holy Spirit among us. We plead for power. Speak, O Lord, and enable your servants to listen.