Well, I just want to say amen to what we have heard so far and praise the Lord. I pray that this day will continue to be a day of rejoicing in the Lord. So let's turn our Bibles to Acts chapter one. And as you're turning there, I want to share with you something that came out of my reading of scripture this week. I would encourage you to try to read through the Bible slower than you probably are for a long time. I have read the Bible in my daily reading just to make that checkmark on my to-do list. And I want you to know that I have, just to confess this, I have never really enjoyed reading the book of Numbers. And then I heard a sermon from the book of Numbers, and it just kind of got my appetite whetted, and I started to read Numbers, and I'm reading Numbers so slow that my congregation is probably tired of hearing me talk about it. But I have not gotten tired of it yet. It's been a great blessing to see God in the book of Numbers. But I was reading this week, and as I was reading this chapter this week, I was thinking about this gathering today. Numbers chapter 10, I think it is, and in Numbers 10, God provided a measure for calling all of the big hosts together. And it was two silver trumpets. And these two silver trumpets were given by God for them to to call in the assembly. They were also given by God to sound an alarm when enemy was when the enemy was lurking and there was a trumpet that was sounded or a certain call that was sounded when it was time to move. And so we've had two trumpets already this morning. There wasn't a third trumpet. I don't know what that means for a third preacher this morning, but we'll see. So these trumpets would sound and they would sound the congregation to come together and assemble and then they would sound the alarm, tell of dangers, tell of what things were in their path that would cause harm. And then they would tell him when it's time to move. And what a beautiful picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, when the gospel trumpet or the trumpet would sound to call them to move, there was a certain pattern in which they would move. And so the pattern is really a beautiful picture for us today as well. The first family that would start the journey was the tribe of Judah. And you know, no doubt what that points to. It's the Lord Jesus Christ is the lion of the tribe of Judah. One of the names for God in the Old Testament is Jehovah is our banner. It's under his banner that we assemble. It's under his banner that we walk. It's by his leadership. that we go. Where you lead, we say, I will follow. Where you take us, we'll follow right behind you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only suitable banner for his people, and he's the only one that we should be marching behind, looking unto him. Well, after after the the kind of Judith, two of the families of the Levites would travel bearing the the furniture and some of the tapestry that went in the tabernacle. And so the whole idea of worship was front and center and first in their thoughts, even as they moved from place to place. This is important information for you and I today. In a cold, dark world, the Lord Jesus Christ must be the one who we follow behind and worship must be central in our thoughts. And then there are a few more tribes that would go on. And then right in the middle, right in the middle would be would be the most precious instruments in the Holy of Holies. where God would come down to meet with his people based, always based on the presupposition that mercy, mercy is that which brings sinful man with a holy God and some kind of a satisfactory, peaceful, even joyful manner. And so the most honored and sacred place was right there in the middle of the camp to be protected at all times, friends. May we draw from the wills of salvation. May salvation never become old to us. May we never think that salvation in Christ is something small. May we strive to walk in the peace with which Christ has made us free and the liberty with which Christ has made us free. But I want to say something else, and this may be for you today. The rest of the family would come on behind them. And the very last family was the family of Dan. And that was called the family that brought the, I can't say it right, but the re-reward or the reward, the re-reward. And that was just the gathering. That was the gathering. You know who was gathered there? Everything that was left. That's the unclean people who were supposed to be outside the camp. That's the sickly. That's the weak. That's those who were out of the way and had to be cast out of the way. Friends, I want you to know that our God has said, I will not leave one of you comfortless. I will not leave one of you behind. So today, my friends, if you are weak and sickly and unclean and your sins have polluted you and taken you far, far, far away from God, I want you to know that in the line of Jesus Christ and to the mercy seat of God and His family, Jesus Christ, there is home. place, there is salvation, there is cleansing for those who are unclean. Praise the Lord. And so I want you to turn with me to Acts chapter one for a few minutes. So so last year, I think it was I think it was July. I may be wrong about that. Last year, there were two ladies in the state of Maine who one of them was five months pregnant. And these two ladies and a dog went for a hike up into, I guess, the hills, the woods of Maine. They were experienced hikers. But the day was a little rainy and it was quite foggy. And they were out there hiking. And before long, they lost their way. And so they they use their cell phone. They had a good signal and they called. And of course, the alert was put out and people began to search for them. But not but but not after too much time, exactly on through the day near near dusk, a farmer found them on his property. So he brought them into his property and he got them in warm clothes and he called the authorities and they came to pick them up. And these ladies were rescued and their dog was rescued. And they got their warm clothes on, their clothes dried, and the authorities drove them back to their car. And I wish that was the end of the story. They got to their car. So they had been rescued from being lost in a foggy, disorienting day. They got back to their car. But this time it was dark and it was dark and foggy. And so they were leaving where they had parked their car and they were driving back to their homes. But they took a wrong turn and they got confused in the fog. And they ended up driving, driving just merrily along. Glad they had been rescued. Driving along down this road. The problem was this road was actually a boat ramp and they drove their car into the water and they called and said, we're stuck in the water. And by the time they got there, they were dead. They were drowned. And as I think about that story, I think about the power of disorientation. I think about you and me. And we have these answers that we give when somebody asks you, how are you doing? There's one man in our church that I'm going to break him one of these days, but his answer every time is fair to Midland. How are you doing, Tom? Fair to Midland. I don't know what that means. When he's sick, he's fair to Midland. When he's well, he's fair to Midland. I wanted to say I'm rejoicing in the God of my salvation. He'll never say it. And then, you know, we know how to give the standard answers. I'm doing fine, how are you doing? I'm doing well. But I wonder if a more honest answer, when somebody asks me how I am doing, is if I might not answer and say, I'm pretty foggy. It's pretty foggy in my life. It's pretty foggy outside. And isn't that true? We've heard described even this morning the peril and the weight, the burden of even sicknesses, of growing old. If you keep up with the news, you know how quickly just everything that we've ever thought was true and right and just made sense and really wasn't even questioned at all, now has been flipped on the other end. I heard about a man who was the head of a big nonprofit who was let go because he had the audacity to say that, I believe, my personal belief is that marriage is between one man and one woman. That's exactly what the president of the United States said when he was campaigning just, what, six years ago. And now this man loses his job for saying that very thing. That's disorienting, isn't it? So we live in a foggy age, a time when things are just swirling around this, and the truth of the matter is we live much of our time pretty dizzy. And I want you to see just what we saw from that story this morning, that dizziness and disorientation is terribly crippling and must be avoided at all costs. But I'm also here to tell you that Jesus Christ is the light that shines through fog and gives life that penetrates fog and is a clear banner, the line of the child of Judah, we can walk behind in a way that is pleasing and honoring to him and that we walk with our feet on a firm foundation, even when everything around us is incredibly marshy and swamplike. So I really think the book of Acts does that. The Book of Acts, of course, is a history of the early church after Christ returned back to glory. And it's a history of not just every event, but a history of some very important events that God wants us to take note of and learn from. It's not a chronological history necessarily, but it is a history in order of extremely important events that I believe are not only good events to know about, but I believe are also a sort of pattern, if you will, or a light that penetrates through fogginess. And so if you today are living in unsure and who is not unsure in some ways of where am I in life and what should I be doing? I want you to know that Jesus Christ speaks to you today from his word. I'm going to break right into here in Acts chapter one, and I'm just going to tell you what Jesus Christ said. This is the risen savior, risen from the grave, preparing to go back to glory, already having purchased redemption for his people. But he's, thank God, spends 40 more days here on this cursed earth. And those last 40 days were not wasted. Those last 40 days were used to appear to His people to renew the light in their eyes, to grant them hope, to point them in a direction. Remember the two on the road to Emmaus just walking aimless and confused on a seven and a half mile walk to nowhere. And yet, friends, when the Lord Jesus Christ came and He stood by them and He dined with them and He taught them, they ran back to Jerusalem Not just aimlessly meandering, but running hard and with purpose to say, our Lord is risen indeed. That's what Christ was doing. And Christ would do the same for you today. Here's what he says to you. And I'm going to break right to the context here in verse eight. I want you to know that Christ is breaking through the fog here in verse eight. What are you to be about? And here's what he says. He says, ye shall be witnesses unto me. Now, don't get mixed up with the word witnesses there. He's not calling every one of us here to preach. There are multiple and myriads of ways that we are called to bear witness to the reality and the power of a resurrected Savior. So we're not all called to preach, and we're not going to talk about how the signed gifts have passed away. That's for another time. I'm telling you, friends, this is the lie that Christ would have you to know. Every one of us. who are believers in Jesus Christ from 4 to 11 to 31 to 51 to 61, all in different stages of life. Yet still this speaks to me and to you. What does Christ want from you? What is my purpose in life? Ye shall be witnesses unto me. Now, let me say a few things about this first. The book of Acts, this is just kind of an easy throw in, the book of Acts is centered around Christ's plan to continue his work and to expand his kingdom and to advance his agenda and to proclaim his glory in the earth until he returns again. And the central place where Christ plans to do that, the central instrument that Christ plans to use to do that is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So you just know this. If you're kind of foggy headed today, kind of wondering where do I belong in this world and how do I know what's true and what's not true? And it's all these different thoughts and all these different ideas and all these different philosophies. How do I know? Just know this. Christ has centered his glory and he centered his truth and he centered his plan inside the church of Christ for the time until he returns again. So if you need to know, how am I doing? You can start with this. Where are my affections found? Is it a burden to come to the house of God? Or is this where my joy is found? Is it always an obstruction to hear the preaching of the word? Or do I find light and truth and understanding? And the entrance of his words brings me light and peace. And I crave his wisdom and his understanding. What are my attitudes toward the people of the church? Do I find myself seeking to pray for them and to serve them and to love them? And do I find them to be my truest and safest companions? And do I find them provoking me to walk more closely with Christ? Or do I find them to become stranger and stranger and stranger and stranger as days go by? Think about that, friends. God has centered his plan within local churches all over the globe to spread his glory by people bearing witness to the Savior. OK, so number two about this is this is very important. You need to understand this. You won't be foggy to understand this. This is so important. This is so hard for me to accept. And this is that ye shall be witnesses to me. In other words, this life, Isaac, is not about you. It's not about you. And the earlier we learn that this life is not about me, the earlier we are ready to bear witness to the glory of Christ and the earlier we are ready to actually experience and know the joys of life. Until we understand this, we only truly know the frustrations of life because it's all about me. Friends, the American dream at one time was probably a good thing. It was a dream of freedom to serve and to worship as we would and to raise our children and to do these things. Somewhere along the way, the American dream has become a corrupted nightmare. And the American dream, it starts from, well, my son has it really deeply. He's two years old. It's about me, daddy. Me, me. When is it my birthday? Can I have a birthday again tomorrow? And then the next day and the next day and the next day. And I have all the ice cream. Daddy, me, me, me. And we don't change from that. We only learn to package it better. Right? To package it a little bit more smoothly, so that it's still about me. As I'm growing up, it's whom I'm going to marry, and what will our house look like, and what will he be to me, and I must have this kind of a girl, and he must be that kind of a guy, and they must be shaped this way, and they must compliment me, and if they don't compliment me perfectly, it must not be right. What is that? It's some corrupted nightmare that's only about you. And then we grow older and we work for that dream and then we get about 40 or 50 and we begin to get these stirrings because we realize that the things that we got, that we wanted, don't actually make us happy. And we go into our 60s and our 70s and we say, well, maybe retirement will bring me my dream, but it's still all about me. And so our retirement leaves us either dead of a heart attack, on the side of some lonely road in an RV, far away from the house of God, or just leaves us bitter, and curmudgeoning, and disappointed. That's a foggy lifestyle, friends. I'm thankful for you to be able to have a desire to marry, but you know what your life is about? It's not about you and Gabriel, John Barrett. What's your life going to be about but Jesus Christ? You're called as a couple to be witnesses unto the glory of Jesus Christ. And the same is true for the rest of us, single or not, or married, whatever it is, it's still not about me. Okay? And so, the third thing, the most important thing is, what he's calling us to be, ye shall be witnesses to me. To what? To the reality of a resurrected, risen Lord over all. Friends, we bear witness of that. At all times, in chapter three, they bear witness of that. They bear witness of that through the healing of the lame man. Listen closely to me. I believe the church of Jesus Christ is to be a healing center. We just passed something on Highway 36 yesterday, a healing revival to be happening here in a few days. And I'm telling you, it's going to be some fake stuff and some pretty glamorous stuff, probably a lot of smoke and mirrors or whatever it is. I don't want that. But I want for you to see true healing taking place for that Jesus Christ, who has already split the powers of hell and broken their strength and broken their curse, now comes and applies that powerful breaking of the curse to individual people's lives. And as they experience this release of bondage, this release of this American dream, this release of this me mindset, this release that Christ is fine, but he's not absolute. And Christ comes to rule and to reign and to heal. That's what we're talking about. The most the best evangelism is organic evangelism. And chapter three is filled with organic evangelism. It was there was no There was no planning. Here's what it was. It was walking and leaping and praising God and walking and leaping and praising God. What drew a crowd that wondered what in the world is going on? Well, let me tell you something. If you claim, if you claim to be a believer in Jesus Christ and you've been lowered in the waters of baptism and you've been raised again, what you have said is that I was healed with a greater healing than the lame man. A far more significant healing. No matter how that his bones began to work again, they were still going to die. And those bones today are dust that will be raised again. So we're talking about being witnesses, bearing witness every day in our lives, through our words, however it comes out every day, bearing witness of the reality of a resurrected, risen Savior. That where once sin did reign, praise God, now grace reigns over me. Where once I loved to serve myself and I hated all other authority, now I love the authority of Christ ruling and teaching and instructing and telling me no. No, it begins to be a good word, right? Because it comes from Christ, who has given me victory over my sins, over the death that reigns within. The reality of a hope that goes beyond the grave. Because Christ rose, I also shall rise. And so I get a cancer diagnosis, and I don't fall completely apart. I sorrow, but I say, I shall live. And these eyes, these same eyes that have gone blind, these eyes shall see him with my own flesh. Right? That's what he's called us to do, to be witnesses of his glory, of his resurrection. And if you and I can get up every day and say, I don't know where my face is at, eh? But I know this, I know what I'm called to be. I know what I'm called to do. Just knowing what we're called to do has a way of parting the fogginess. Because fogginess comes as changes come. You guys are graduating. What do I study? Where do I go to school? What should I do next? I'm 23. I'm not married yet. What's wrong with me? All these crazy thoughts that pester our minds are nothing more than the pestering of the accuser. You know what to do every day. God will take care of the rest. OK, you get up and say, I will bear witness through grace of the reality of a God who loved me and died for me and has raised me again to walk in a new life. Isn't that good? So let's talk about a couple more things and we'll close. This is this pattern that God has given us. I want you to live as if you're healed. I want you to bear witness of as if you're healed. I want you to live healed. I want you to live, bear witness to my glory. But of course, Satan hates this. Let me just tell you, there's three ways really under one category that Satan works to try to destroy your witness, to try to foggy up your life, try to cloud up your light in your eyes. The same thing every time. I just say what they are. They're all under one category. That category is persecution. Sometimes I think we talk wrong about persecution. We say persecution is something in the future or in the unknown. For instance, the very moment, listen, from the very moment you were brought to life in Christ, from that moment you have been persecuted. Now, not most extreme, but you know what persecution really is? Persecution is the assault of the adversary. The assaults of the adversary, they always have the same goal. The goal is to draw you away from Christ. Every child of grace has experienced persecution. Every child of grace has succumbed to persecution, no doubt. But every child of grace will be sustained through persecution by our great risen Lord and sustainer, Jesus Christ. And so that's what happens. Persecution, the first persecution in Acts. Listen, it's amazing. So you have the Holy Ghost coming out in Acts chapter two, right? Having power in the church. Chapter three, there's healing. That's what the church is supposed to be. Chapter four, the next thing is, as if he's saying, this is what you can expect. What do you expect out of life? Let me tell you what to expect. You can expect persecution. You can expect it to be hard. You can expect it to never go smoothly. So in Acts 4, the third thing that happens in the church here is persecution. This is persecution from the outside, something that we're going to become more and more familiar with. Something that we spend a lot of time fearing about and talking about and trying to ward off. Oh my goodness, what's going to happen if this law passes? And I hope those laws don't pass, friends. I want you to know, friends, this story, the story is going on. The story will continue to go on until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. In Matthew 28, Jesus said this, I will be with you. In Isaiah 43, he says, you're going to go through the waters. I'm going to be there. You're going to go through the fire. I'm going to be there. And there's a reason for that. The reason is that you may be able to be my witnesses, that I am God, and beside me there is no Savior. Friends, the end of the story, this whole thing ends with Jesus Christ absolutely reigning and ruling over all, and all his enemies being his footstool. So we may undergo persecution from the outside. Here's what happens here, the Sadducees persecute them. This is really relevant. The Sadducees were not like the Pharisees. The Pharisees didn't stick much to the law. The Sadducees didn't really care much about the law. What they cared about was just getting along. They were the rich folks in the Jewish party. They were the political sect. They were the ones that were smoothing and in tight with the Romans who were over. And they didn't believe in the resurrection. They didn't believe in spiritual things like angels. And they just felt like that man was a master of his destiny. So you can imagine this. Let me put it in some more fresh language. Your best life now. Not familiar, anybody? That was their idea. Let me give you another word that goes with that, just tolerance. We understand you raised this guy or that you killed this guy, but who gave you the authority to do that? And they told him and they said, OK, listen, we'll let you go, but do not speak in his name anymore. Friends, there are probably people in this room who are not sure about Christianity, but you're fine about this. Now, I'm fine with Jesus Christ as long as he's not absolute. But there's a lot of truths in this world, there's a lot of things in this world, there's a lot of spirits in this world. I want you to know, friends, it's absolute. Neither is there salvation in any other. That's the claims of faith. There are absolute claims. So you undergo this persecution. And then in chapter five, they are persecuted even more harshly. They're arrested and thrown into prison and they're beaten. But I want you to say I want to tell you this. You can expect trouble from outside. It will happen. It will always happen. I want to tell you two things, though. In chapter four, you know what spared them the trouble? Number one. They had been with Jesus. They could not answer them. You know why? They were ignorant people. They were uneducated people. But they had been with Jesus. Guess what? Every one of us who are children of grace can be with Jesus. You know what else they did? They threw themselves, the church, on their faces before God. Say, God, You're the creator of this world. You own this world, God. And God, we know that in days gone by, the wicked have imagined vanities against You, God, and yet You snap them away, God. They've imagined vanities against Christ. And God, You brought down those who would seek to bring down Christ. And You raised up Christ as a victor, even through these wicked men. God, You've done it before. And so now, God, we have no strength. Please, God, hear their threatenings and slaughterings and their threatenings and grant thy servants boldness that they may speak thy word. What you see, friends, is that in the times of fear, let me tell you the truth. The truth of the matter is some of the things you fear will probably happen to you. Probably will. Some of the things you dread will probably happen to you. They probably will. And even then, there's no reason to turn back. God, just give us boldness. Let us continue to be your witness. Let us continue to speak in your name. Let us not turn and have shipwrecked with the faith. God, let us walk with you. Right? So it's prayer. Be with Christ as a powerful, powerful, powerful weapon when we are being assaulted from outside. Let me give you one more and I'll close. Here's another persecution of Satan. Here's another way to throw off your witness. It's from within, from inside here. Acts chapter five tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira. I don't believe Ananias and Sapphira necessarily had evil intent before they got started with this thing. Here's what happened, though. They saw Barnabas give his gift to the church and probably get a lot of praise. They said, you know what? It's a pretty good deal. And so they went and sold their property and they brought the money to the church, except for a portion, which was OK to do. Just fine to do. It belonged to them. But they lied about it. And you go, how could they do that? Well, let me tell you what was behind that lie, I believe. I believe we'll all recognize this. I believe what was behind that lie was the desperate need to be thought of well by others. Right? Isn't that real close to where you and I live every day? You know what else is behind that lie? They forgot who God was. They lost their fear of God. Oh, I rejoice in the Savior who redeems and who sheds his blood and forgives. But I want you to know this. You know, this story really seems like it's a misplaced story, doesn't it? It belongs back in Joshua where judges and non-bishops and God was mean. But then Jesus came and God got nice all of a sudden, right? So this is just a misplaced story. But it's not, is it? Hebrews 12 says it's right in the right place. Praise God, friends. Let me say it this way, the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. He's a God who is holy and who is deserving, not just of your love, but he's deserving of your respect, your obedience, your fear. So maybe that thought, I didn't finish the story. He kills them. They die. They die. They die. Now, all they did was lie. It's kind of a white lie. I'm not even sure I would have recommended her discipline, frankly. Just say you're sorry. OK, seriously, think about it. On the scale of sins, it doesn't seem that big. And God killed them. Right. So maybe you're sitting here thinking, oh, my goodness, how in the world can I approach a God like that? How can I dwell with a God like that? Let me tell you how you do it. You do it sincerely. Who are we? Who does Christ save? He saves sinners. Sinners. So why then do we as sinners purport ourselves to be something other than sinners? Right? We look, we seek to be saints, even glorified saints in front of others. And we have these things that weigh against us and weigh against us and weigh. And we will lie, won't we? will lie to preserve that self-protection facade. And one of the big problems is, right then, we have forgotten who God is. But you know, God draws near to him. He draws nearers close to him. Yes, we still come through Mount Zion. We don't come through Sinai, praise God. We come through Mount Zion, but our God is still a consuming fire, who is a God to be greatly feared and loved. And the last thing that happens there in Acts, the third part of Acts is the third attack of Satan was not from within or from without, but it was among the church dissension. So let me just close, churches all represented love one another. God solved that problem for the deacons. But it had the potential to be incredibly debilitating and to leave a bunch of helpless, aimless, foggy people. And we cannot afford to have foggy people because Jesus Christ deserves better. So fight him from within. Come to God as a sinner. He receives sinners. He forgives sinners, but he puts away those who are proud. And you be with Jesus. Be with Jesus in prayer, be with Jesus in the Word, be with Jesus every day, and you will fight off the attacks of Satan from the outside. Most of all, remember what you're called to be. You're called to be witnesses to the glory and the grace and the reign of Jesus Christ for sinners. May God bless you.