Acts 20:1

And being assembled together with them, [Jesus] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father... For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now... It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power, but you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. (Acts 1:4–8)

The book of Acts is the story of God's power working through ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things—and He is still doing it through you.

The Church Sent to the Uttermost Parts

Yesterday afternoon our China team, led by Kelly Kirstead, boarded a plane at LAX bound for Shanghai—they're there now. A week ago Josh Wise, who grew up through our children's and youth ministries, went north to intern at my friend Daniel Fusco's church. Last month Anna Kohler flew to Israel to serve with Shavei Akim. A year ago Shane Nelson went on a "short-term" trip to China that became much longer; he's now attending an underground Bible school there, learning Mandarin, with a passion for the Chinese people. We also support Luke and Kristen Reiter in Mozambique and Christina Kaiser in Israel.

These are just the latest names in a long list of individuals sent out to the uttermost parts from this fellowship over our 31 years in Escondido. The empowered church of God has been going, teaching, and baptizing in the name of Jesus for 2,000 years, continuing to fulfill the commission Jesus commanded, directed by His Spirit. We will keep following that command until He returns.

God's Plan Is His People

The church—the body of Christ, not this building, but the people of God—is the plan of God for reaching the world with His love and grace. Paul calls it "the foolishness of preaching," because an almighty God chooses what seems a foolish method: He empowers His people, who put their confidence in Him, to be witnesses unto Him.

Just as Israel had a tabernacle, a meeting place to come and meet with God, God now seeks to tabernacle with men through His church. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3 and 6), the dwelling place of God. "Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Through us He interacts with the world.

Ministry Through the Whole Body

This "going" does not only happen in the uttermost parts. We can fall into a wrong way of thinking in the modern Western church—that missions is something far away—and fail to see what God wants to do in our Jerusalem, right where we live. He wants to use every single one of us. Whether you ever get a passport or board a plane, you are called to be an ambassador of Christ wherever you are.

We must wrestle with the truth that ministry happens through the body of Christ, not just through the ministers. For much of church history we have assumed the work belongs to missionaries, pastors, and evangelists—people with titles, for whom ministry is a vocation. But those individuals exist to equip and enable the whole body to do the work. This is one of the dynamic things about the Calvary Chapel movement: God has imparted the work back to the body of Christ.

So the call of God extends far beyond the church building. The work of God happens in the fire station, the police station, the corporate office, the college campus, the construction site, the coffee shop, the grocery store—wherever the people of God may be. If you're a lawyer, you're God's representative in the legal profession. If you're a carpenter, you're in good company—that was Jesus' vocation. If you're a teacher, you're His representative in the classroom, and don't we need that. The engineer, the architect, the banker, the mechanic, the retail clerk, the postman, the stay-at-home mom—all of these occupations are callings.

Our Sufficiency Is from God

When that truth is declared, we often feel completely unable to fulfill it. That's not a bad thing—it's actually good. I'm more concerned when someone says, "I got this." How many of us still carry scars from thinking we had it? When we recognize we cannot do anything in ourselves, we become more reliant on the source of power we truly need.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:5–6)

The quicker we recognize our complete dependency, the more effective we will be. He makes us able ministers, able servants, able representatives of Him.

The Acts of the Holy Spirit Through Ordinary People

The book of Acts, while called the Acts of the Apostles, is really the acts of God through His church—more appropriately, the Acts of the Holy Spirit. When someone holds a title like pastor, missionary, evangelist, prophet, elder, bishop, or apostle, we can be tempted to elevate it. (I get a little leery when someone tells me he's a prophet—we've got a bucket of rocks outside to test that.) But the word apostolos simply means "one who is sent with a message."

There was a special class of men who had seen Jesus and were commissioned by Him directly. Yet others in the New Testament are also called apostles who were not eyewitnesses—they were simply ones sent with a message. The reality is, each of us has been sent with a message. The Great Commission: go into all the world, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey the word of Christ.

Good starting points come straight from Jesus: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." Start there and you'll do very well, because all the law and the prophets are contained in those words. We will spend our entire lives seeking to do this and find ourselves completely insufficient without His enabling power.

Reading the New Testament in Its History

We began studying Acts about four and a half years ago—longer than I expected. My good friend David Guzik started Acts a year ago and is almost done; every time we talk he laughs that I'll never finish. We've been going chronologically through the New Testament letters alongside Acts, because the bulk of the New Testament is letters—thirteen from Paul, plus John, Peter, James, and Jude—and we're reading them in their historic order.

If you read Matthew to Revelation straight through, you might be confused about how it all fits. Romans appears right after Acts as if it were the first letter, but it was actually Paul's sixth. His first was Galatians, written to the churches he and Barnabas planted on their first journey—Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Antioch. After Paul left, people came in and seduced the church away from the simplicity in Christ, so he wrote that bold letter, fearful he had labored in vain. He nearly lost his life at Lystra, stoned and left for dead, yet he said, "I will labor again for you till Christ be formed in you." He used a farmer's language—looking for fruit: love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control—not the law, for the law leads us to Christ.

The whole Bible comes together through the historical lens. When I teach Jeremiah and Isaiah at the Bible college, I have students read 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, because you can't grasp the prophets apart from their history. The Bible is not an archaic book of legends and myth—it's a history book. The names are real people who lived in real places on specific dates.

Real People, Real Dates

To show how specific this is: Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Philippi, after going from Troas to Macedonia and meeting Titus. That was the fall of A.D. 57. He then spent three months in Corinth into early 58, traveled north, and was in Philippi for Passover—March 13, A.D. 58. After the feast he took a five-day journey across the Aegean to Troas, spent seven days, and continued to Jerusalem for Pentecost, which fell on May 27, A.D. 58—the day he was arrested.

Consider the turmoil in the world. In A.D. 49 the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. A church already existed there, likely from people who heard the gospel at Pentecost in Acts 2. By the time Paul wrote Romans from Corinth in 57–58, that church had become fully Gentile—unheard of at the time—and when the Jews returned, gnarly cultural tensions arose. That's why Romans 1 declares the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for the Jew and the Gentile. The whole purpose is to show the gospel's importance for all mankind. The Bible makes so much more sense viewed this way. Just as God worked through real people then, He will work through you and me now.

Why the Messiah Didn't Meet Their Expectations

Paul spent the winter of A.D. 57–58 in Corinth—nearly 28 years after Jesus rose from the dead. We're 20 chapters into Acts at that point. Coming back to the book, we'll look at the first six chapters, which roughly cover the first six years of the church, beginning with the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.

There was great expectation for the Messiah in first-century Israel under Roman occupation. Jesus came proclaiming Himself Messiah, the Son of God, with signs and wonders—raising the dead, walking on water, calming storms, healing the sick. Many believed. But He didn't work according to their expectation. Have you ever felt jilted because God didn't work the way you thought He should? People grow upset because He didn't answer prayer their way, as if He were a genie. They wanted a conquering king to destroy Rome and restore Israel.

Even His closest followers wanted this. After He told them to wait for the Spirit, they asked, "Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" The church 2,000 years ago was inordinately focused on eschatology—too much focus on end times. Things haven't changed much. Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons... but you shall receive power to be witnesses unto me." In other words: that's not for you to know; I've got work for you to do.

The Promise of Power

The first demonstration of God's power, in Acts 1:4–8, is the promise of power. The disciples had just witnessed the most powerful display of God's attributes in the resurrection. Now Jesus promises, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." But not power for its own sake. Some in the Christian movement today want power just for power's sake, like Simon the magician. When you get a power tool, it's for a work, not just to admire in the garage. You shall receive power so that you'll be witnesses unto Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts.

The Provision of Power

Acts 2 gives us the provision of power.

When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house... And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire... And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1–4)

Notice the origin: a sound from heaven, the promise of the Father. And the demonstration had a purpose. Devout Jews from every nation under heaven were dwelling in Jerusalem, and each heard the believers speaking in his own language. They received this not just to amaze, but to bear witness.

Preaching with Power

The third movement, beginning at Acts 2:14, is preaching with power. The church was birthed by the Spirit stirring a message that was preached. People wonder if preaching is out of place in the 21st century—but God, by His power, spoke through an individual, and the church was born.

Notice who preached. This is the same Peter who, the night Jesus was betrayed, swore three times, "I do not know the man." Now he stands with power.

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem... these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. (Acts 2:14–16)

The Byproduct of Power

The fourth movement, in Acts 2:37, is the byproduct of power.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37)

Powerful preaching produces a powerful response. Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The byproduct is the transformation of sinners into saints, raised to new life. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead saves sinners dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2). And the byproduct continued: three thousand souls were added that day, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

This is the very church Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16, when Peter confessed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said flesh and blood had not revealed it, and "upon this rock I will build my church"—using a different word for "rock." Peter is the little pebble; the rock is that bold confession of faith. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, is the cornerstone.

I was in Vatican City in 2005, talking with priests who told us of excavations where they believe they found Peter's tomb, over which St. Peter's Basilica is built. But that's a misunderstanding of Jesus' words. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. In the ancient world the city gates were where elders gathered and strategic plans were made—so the meaning is that the strategic plans of hell will not prevail against the church. Satan has failed. When Jesus said, "It is finished," I imagine Satan cheering—then three days later realizing what "finished" really meant.

Restored Community Through the Cross

The early church "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." This has been a key foundation of the Calvary Chapel movement, and it's why we teach the Scriptures, take communion monthly, pray together, and seek fellowship.

Months ago we stepped out of 2 Corinthians for a series called Reconcile, drawn from 2 Corinthians 5, where we are told we have been reconciled to God and given the ministry of reconciliation. In the fall of Genesis 3, man lost communion with God and community with one another. In Christ, both are restored—fellowship with one another and communion with God. This is the very thing our world longs for. If Facebook were a nation, it would be the third largest in the world with 950 million users. People are desiring oneness with one another and with God, even when they can't verbalize it. This is what is found in Christ, and what the church offers the world.

This is why we are who we are: Cross Connection. We want to be connected to God through the cross, connected to one another because of the cross, and seeking to connect our community to Christ through the cross. Out of much prayer, I sent a letter at the start of this year inviting people to meet Wednesday nights to pray toward establishing a ministry that goes beyond Sunday mornings—because the two-and-a-half-minute "greet one another" is not a whole lot of real Christ-centered fellowship.

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:46–47)

The church gathered corporately on the first day of the week—as we still do—but also from house to house. That's the heart behind a new ministry we'll call Connect: focused home groups, birthed in prayer, trusting God to infuse the power, so that we live out Christ-centered community throughout this county, not just in this room on a Sunday morning.

The Partitioning of Power

The fifth movement, in Acts 6, is the partitioning of power.

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. (Acts 6:1)

A cultural problem arose between Hellenistic and Hebrew Christians over neglected widows—a lack of ministry, 2,000 years ago and today. The twelve said it was not reasonable to leave the word of God to serve tables, so they called the believers to choose seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to be appointed over the task, while the apostles gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

So power was partitioned to other able individuals of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom. They laid hands on them and prayed, and the result follows in verse 7: "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied." This is exactly what we're praying toward through the Connect ministry.

A Community That Is Real

Before we pray over our leaders, I want to share a video given to me after the Reconcile series, from the author of a book on community.

Community in America is broken. A recent study indicates the average American has only two people they can confide in for any meaningful conversation—and many of us have no one. In mid-century Detroit, the automobile reshaped everything; trolleys were removed and freeways were cut straight through communities, with no idea of the consequences. Sixty years later, Robert Putnam found that for every ten minutes of commute we are ten percent less likely to have meaningful relationships—and the average commute today is thirty minutes each way. Most of us don't even know our neighbors.

We have more options for connectivity than ever—the average Facebook user has 314 friends and 80 community pages—yet depression and loneliness are projected to make depression the second most common health issue worldwide by 2020. We weren't built for isolation. We were created in the image of a God who exists in community, and created for community.

Community is a declaration of the overwhelming love of God—that Christ has reconciled us to the Father and to one another. The church should be the most compelling expression of community in our culture, standing in contrast to the counterfeit community that costs us nothing. Too often we're known for awkward circles rather than transformational community, feeding the skepticism of those outside who hoped for something different. My prayer is that God would strip away everything fake about our community and replace it with the only thing that gives life—the gospel.

Praying Over Our Leaders

These are just some of the men whose names rose to the surface as we prayed and sought the Lord: Jared Beck, Ron Hendricks, David Carey, Greg Danskin, Craig Warren, Steve Downs, Bob Davis, Christian Turner, and Mark Cato. The reason it has taken months to share this is our conviction that it must be birthed in prayer, with God as the one who infuses it.

These fellowship groups will not merely center around a Bible study; they're centered around fellowship, caring for one another, praying for one another, and engaging the community right where they gather—a missional focus. In a couple of weeks we'll share specific strategies, and Pastor Jeff Jackson will be a big part of that. If you're interested in joining a group, come and talk with these men after the service.

Closing Prayer

Father, we pray that You would work in and through us, Your church, to reach North County San Diego, to reach those disconnected from You, to be the expression of Your love and grace and power to everyone we contact—in our neighborhood, our workplace, wherever we play. Work through us to connect people with You. You have reconciled us to Yourself, and we want to see people reconciled to You as well.

We pray for these men, just as in Acts 6 a group of men of good report, filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, were brought before the disciples and prayed for. We pray for these and the others You will raise up to lead in this capacity. Open doors, and work a great work. May we see You move in our day as we read of You moving in the book of Acts. We lift this into Your hands, in Jesus' name. Amen.