Northside Church - Sydney
To The Ends of The Earth Part 2 – Week 6: Ends
I don't know about you but I love previews at the movies. I'm the sort of guy that wants to get there about half an hour beforehand. Extra large coke, popcorn, getting no one else's in the theatre, curtain is still up there in the theatre. I love watching the previews and because previews are great aren't they? They just give you 30 seconds just to slim it in 30 to 60 seconds of a story that is far deeper, far more amazing than you could ever imagine. And I wondered if the book of Acts was a preview to probably go something like this. Just imagine one man once dead, now alive as he takes two, maybe three, no twelve of these, no hoopers and turns them into the leaders of the greatest movement the world has ever seen. Faith, love, perseverance, opposition as they go to the ends of the earth. Hey, God does, God has created a trailer of preview for the greatest story that has ever been told and you don't go to the cinemas to go and see them, you go to his church. And what I want to say to us tonight is we come to the end of the book of Acts that this is one of these previews and I always love it don't you when you see the blind side or something like that that they say based on a true story. And we come to a preview tonight of the most incredible story of transformation based on a true story and when we reach the end of the book of Acts in chapter 28 we see the boldly and without hindrance Paul preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the last line. And what is really amazing about this story is that if you're the sort of person that likes resolution in your plots then it's not going to make you all that comfortable. Because the book of Acts a picture of a man sitting in the house preaching the gospel is all that Luke leaves us with did he die yes how did he die we don't know. Could we speculate it all night yes maybe perhaps but what Luke is doing is inviting each and every one of us is in to become part of this continuing story. And so ironically this is not the beginning of the end this is just the end of the beginning of the greatest story that is ever told if you've got your Bibles with you tonight turn to the last chapter of the book of Acts in chapter 28 I'm going to take just two snippets of chapter 28 it's a long one verses 16 and then 30 through to 31 verse 16 it says when we got to Rome Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him and then in verse 30 it says for two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ well up until this point we have focused on the Apostle Paul right through from chapter 20 all the way through to chapter 28 in the book of Acts he's been falsely charged he's been jailed he's been abused he's been through five trials he's been shipwrecked and now here he is in Rome sweet Rome and Rome the largest and the most splendid of ancient cities the Rome because Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire it was one of the world's greatest cities ever some have said its founding has been called the grandest political achievement ever accomplished and after all these events 25 years later Paul finally was able to address the church in Rome with his gospel with his good news about Jesus and finally Rome could be thoroughly evangelized he must have thought then what an incredible spot for the gospel to radiate outwards because for a Roman or to a Roman the city of Rome was the center of the world from the golden milestone in the forum at the Rome roads went out in all directions to all parts of the Empire and yet to a Jew from Tarsus Rome was literally the ends of the earth so now read now they are reading tonight it's much shorter than many of them narrative passages that we've read before and I've done that deliberately for a reason because why look have you ever seen those you know those funny pictures where you take a particular picture and then you put them in with thousands of other photos and if you step back far enough it actually creates another bigger picture you ever seen them around really clever stuff with digital technology these days I want to do that with the book of acts tonight my intentions not to expose it the 28th chapter of acts work out what color was the walls painted in Paul's house and how did he die and where did he die and what happened I want us given that we've this is now our second year in the book of acts really instead just given overview of what we have seen in the book of acts and you see the important thing to remember is that the book of acts is actually not about Paul but it's the unfolding of one phrase from one man in acts chapter one verse eight from Jesus himself where he says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth when we see a range of different characters and all of that but here's the thing with characters in the story I don't know about you but if you've seen my Facebook I got the Star Wars Blu-ray DVD collection this week I'm loving it I've already been into the bonus material you know when I have that bonus material and you can you see all the interviews with the the directors commentary and you see all these special interviews and I went in and there was no interviews from from from Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford or Mark Hamill who's Luke Skywalker if you didn't know that there was there was no interviews with any of the characters and I'm thinking why are there no interviews with any of the characters and it's it's for this reason you know you want it you want to you want to set a character up and say look what was your intention with the twist here in the story and and why did you put what did you why did you character go through all this here and why did this happen and that the actors just going to look at you and go I don't know asked the one who wrote the script now it would have been the same for Paul if we could have set Paul up in one of those channel seven you know the lights in you know to the ends of the earth movie backdrop at the end Nelson Aspen interviewing him saying Paul White Law why did you go through the shipwrecks why did you go through the the beatings to the within an inch of your life why why did you wander around half of Europe before you ever did anything and Paul would have said if he's here today I don't know ask the one who wrote the script you see we can look at the characters of acts but what we see here in behind the scenes documentary is that what we're discovering acts is that the primary actor in this book is not the apostles the primary actor in this book is not James and it's not Peter and it's not Paul it's God himself it's the author of the script it's and so when we ask what is the many of the true story behind the acts look acts tells us not so much and it does to some degree tell us who we are and what the church is about and how the church should operate and what the world is but it tells us most of all who God is and what we see in acts is that our God is a missionary God our God is ascending God a God who from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away in acts we see a God in mission mission stems from God first and foremost if we want to talk about that and that is the overarching theme of the book of acts and it means well what is God's mission versus 30 to 31 Paul is preaching Jesus in the kingdom it says for two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him and boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ what does it mean that Paul's preaching Jesus in the kingdom at the at the broadest level the plot summary goes like this what he's saying is he he's preaching a story that says I have broken into the world this is God saying I've broken into the world to rescue and restore it and so when you talk about mission it's easy to get caught up in the details on one side of the fence it's like the orphans and the hungry and the sick and on the other side of the fence on the conservative side is the preaching and the teaching and look what is a Christian do anything in regard to mission of course it's to reach out to the sick but you know the Macquarie Center the I saw the body shop can can do that just as well the body shop can do social justice just as well as the church and of course it's to preach and to teach but Anthony Robbins can preach and teach a heck of a lot better than I could you see any any Christian why why do we do anything regards to mission our mission is get is to get the world to believe Jesus's mission and and and whether it's in deeds of justice or words of teaching or in community everything we do as a community is to get the world to be in love with Jesus's mission and that is that the Jesus was not just born but he was sent that he wasn't some guy who was born into the world to teach people how to love each other and be nice and live in community with one another but he wasn't not that he was not just born but he was sent by God himself and everything that we do as a community is to convince a world that one of the most in fact the most significant person in human history was sent from God and why is this such a big deal because the gospel is so sweeping the god you know the funny thing about the gospel is the gospel is it's far more optimistic than the religions of the world and it's it's far more pessimistic than the non-religions of the world you see the Christianity is far more optimistic than most of the world's religion because when most of the world's religions look at life they say well you can't fix this mess and you've got to escape the world and so if you live a certain way and you're in your with God you do the right things then just bite your time and then you're going to float away off into the clouds but but but mostly the purpose of world religion is to skate that's it's it's it's pessimistic approach to life it says this world's an illusion and it's not important it's a place where you connect for a period of time but if you do the right thing you're going to go on to some better things one day you see what I'm saying it's it's pessimistic so Christianity is more optimistic than the world's religions but it's far more pessimistic than non-religions than than secular people the secular people it says you know come on please the physical world's broken you see the secular world says look it's the Michael Jackson healed the world principle you know we can just make this world a better place for you and for me in the entire human race you know it's it's the healed the world stuff and if we just band together and if we just kill poverty then all this stuff we can fix it and Christianity says come on have you have you seen the world it's broke there's there's decay you know sadly as we heard tonight in the testimony there's physical decay there's social decay in the violence that's going on around the place in this city at the moment there's psychological decay with the mental health problems that our country is facing there is something deeply wrong here the gospel is far more pessimistic than the sort of heal the world optimism of non-religion but here's the thing at the gospel the whole Bible says in spite of its brokenness God loves this world and the and the prophets of the Bible say someday the Lord himself is going to come to heal the physical brokenness and the social brokenness and the psychological brokenness God is coming to fix it up and the mission of God is this is that he's not going to abandon this world he's come to rehab the world he's come to rehab the world when God appeared in the flesh in the person of Jesus he broke the barrier between this sort of real and ideal that religion and non-religion has you know the ideal becomes real in Jesus he dies on the cross and he breaks the barriers of brokenness he rises from the dead and he he breaks the barrier of the brokenness of death what's he doing Jesus says I bought the kingdom of God not through politics or technology and not through legislation and free markets and democracy through anything except except I came and I died you know what Jesus was he was a blues brother he was Jesus can see he said I am on a secret mission from God you know Jesus considered himself one cent on a secret mission from God a divine conspiracy as Dallas Willard puts it and and Jesus himself reveals the most incredible and unique thing about Kristianity and that is Jesus says I've come on a rescue mission from God and I call you to join me and so if you're a Christian the unfolding of Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Jerusalem Judea ends of the earth my witness it means if you're a Christian that means you too and so there's two implications of this tonight if God is a God who is in mission if God is a mission or God then there are two implications for us tonight there's a corporate implication and there's an individual implication you see there's a corporate implication for us first look one of the questions lots of people ask around the place is what is the role of the church in in in mission God's mission and some people say look you don't need the church I'm passionate about trafficking and I'm passionate about poverty and I'm passionate about orphans and the church does a hopeless job at that I don't need the church I'm going to do this myself but what I want to say here's the thing what I want to say tonight is apart from the church you're not going to be effective in mission here's why you know Jesus in John chapter 17 verse 21 he prays for his followers and says to the father I pray that all of them may be one why would he say that because mission is not an individual exercise and in verse 21 you know he's saying just as you're a me I'm in you may they also be in us so the world may believe that you have sent me so the world might believe that you have sent me you hear that it's saying that the world will believe that Jesus was actually a blues brother on a secret mission from God and that we are to not by the level of our individual activity but by the level of our corporate unity mission is not an individual exercise and so you know it's it what is Jesus saying the sermon on the mount you're the light of the world but what does he say you're a city on a hill ever thought it's very difficult to be a city all by yourself it means it's very hard to be effective and attractive to the world by yourself there's nothing attractive about one person going nuts for the kingdom of God you call them fanatics but genuine loving communities on the other hand that are showing the world how to do life you know money and relationships and power from a kingdom perspective now that's a different story so what it what it means for us tonight is that the quality of our community here will be the secret of our mission I said that before missions not an individual activity but it's done in corporate unity and apart from the church you're not going to be effective in it as effective as you can be I'm not saying you can't do mission totally by yourself but it means there's two ways to look at the church and one of the other ways a lot of people look at it is that they say mission is a function of the church in other words mission is that little area of the church that someone heads up and they're the mission director and they think of cool mission things to do and as long as we get enough people off into that side of the church then I'm doing my bit missions a function of the church but but guys have if you if you looked at the book of Acts remember the church in Antioch you know did did it say there's there's there's Barnabas the the past teacher and here's Paul our missions director now it said the Holy Spirit guided them and and sent them both out that everyone was involved in mission in that regard and what it means for you tonight is that you've got a part to play in Northside's mission whether or not we have a function that's called beyond Northside or not I'm thankful to God that we are making inroads in that regard but we are all part of it we're all part of of doing mission and so what it means for us is that mission is not a function of the church but the church is a function of God's mission God was the one doing all the activity here and so that it's the church's role for everyone to get involved with what God is doing what does that look like you see Paul's in a house under arrest chained to a Roman soldier and yet within this city within a couple of generations it becomes the absolute heartland for global Christianity how does that work it works because within Christians ran into the plagues they ran into the plagues within within 50 to 150 years of Paul and this time in the book of Acts that we're reading about tonight there was incredible plagues all throughout Rome and whilst all the Romans were discerning the city there were people walking down the streets going in the opposite direction into the very heartland of the sickness and they were the ones called the Christians it's a known historical fact why would that why would they do that because they weren't afraid of death their Savior died to save them and and since he's risen again they're not afraid of the future and since he'd begun rehabbing the world then why wouldn't they in the middle of a plague begin to rehab the world you think about this how how are Christians capable of that kind of boldness and courage and love and capability and greatness you know are they capable well no it's not because the gospel was working for them it wasn't working for them they were getting killed for it it was because the gospel was transforming them turn him into the sort of people in the middle of sickness was running in the opposite direction and see what the mission of God does it's far more sweeping where every other religion in the world is trying to escape the world the church of Jesus Christ is running into it so if one person had to run into the plagues and died they would have been maybe it's noble some people think it's idiotic but the Romans stood back and they saw a hundred no a thousand something's going on here there's this a story behind this people in Rome began to ask what is it there's corporate implications to mission you're not going to be effective if you try and do it by yourself missions not a function of the church the church is a function of God's mission and then finally there's individual implications for for God's mission tonight for us verse 16 it says when we got to Rome Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him now if you follow Paul in the book of Acts it's sort of like a cause approach to ministry the cause you know the Irish band they say that song go on go on leave me breathless go on go on um Paul leaves you breathless so I had to say the cause by the way because Paul done said that I had to mention the Irish in the sermon tonight given Australia's loss to the wall of ease so Maxie if you're talking to your dad it's been done but getting back to it Paul would leave you breathless this was a guy who was constantly on the move he was constantly around doing ministry and surely the worst thing that could happen to this guy is that he'd get stuck in a house for two years and here we discover on getting to Rome that he's confined he's stuck in the house you know where would he go and I'm a bit the devil would be rubbing his hands and I've got him now I've got the gospel now it's not getting out from here I've trapped him and no it wouldn't have worked like that probably worked like this every morning a soldier would have come in and said Caesar is Lord Paul probably would have said well with due respect dear soldier no Christ is Lord and and and and the soldier would say I knew you're going to say that Paul I knew you're going to say that again and Paul would say do you believe it and he'd go day after day after day for two years boldly and without hindrance he preached Jesus Christ and the kingdom and here's a question how did he continue so diligently under house arrest for two years I mean this guy was a pocket rocket this this guy was always around the place is constantly on the move how could he not gone stir crazy in that place and the answer is Paul had a mission Paul had a mission and the implication for you tonight is that you need a mission you need a mission and what do you mean when I need a mission what's that a missions when you're comfort in your position and your safety and your needs run second place to some greater cause in your life when there's something or someone more important to you than your own interests Hebrews chapter 12 says but for the joy set before him Jesus went before the cross and endured it scouring at shame and sat down at the right hand of the father there's a paradox here we hear that there was a cross set before Jesus but there was also joy and in the joy he endured across why because Jesus had a mission Jesus had a purpose and a cause that was greater than himself and it was you so you're asking and I what do I need one look you got to have one because you've got to have something more important than yourself and your own selfish desires to live for why because your future we've talked this through before this is the definition of Christian hope your future determines how you act now your future what you believe your future to be completely shapes what you believe now and how you act how else could Jesus endure what he did and we see the same principle working in Paul's life day after day for those two years that his future he had a mission a clear future a few clear view of his future in God's kingdom and it affected how he lived now Jesus kingdom Jesus kingdom Jesus kingdom he's keeps preaching the same thing guys let me ask you tonight look if you live only for the sake of your own interests what like what sort of life is that your own comfort and your needs what what is compelling about that you know you don't say that when you ask kids what they want to do when they grow up you know do they say look I hope I get a desk job in which I can really be the be the shaper of all my self-fulfilling needs but I don't say that I say I want to be an astronaut I want to be a fireman I want to be a princess don't say I'm a princess come on we know it deep down inside we all want to live for something greater than ourselves than our own self fulfilling needs you know what sort of life is that if you want a big life you got to get into mission it was true for Jesus true for everyone and the alternative is a diminished life a fading life and a wilting life what do you mean look we live in a generation which we've you know isn't it true that the nature of our generation these days it like the whole purpose of life is just to find you that your means to fulfilling your own needs in your own happiness and we see this incredible paradox is that we people are just as unhappy as ever in the midst of that because when your needs are the most significant thing in your life it's not long before you realize that your life is not making a difference for anyone else and ironically and paradoxically you become to feel even more insignificant the paradox is if your needs are the most important you actually feel less important you got to live for something bigger than yourself what does that look like look I was over in America at the beginning of the year in Florida I went to this place at Cape Canaveral it's called the Kennedy Space Center and I'd always wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center as a kid because the space shuttle mission started the year I was born and I'm a space shuttle kid through and through and we went to the Kennedy Space Center I just imagine this was going to be Disneyland for adults and we get there as there's rockets all around the place and I get in there and we're traveling around and I notice the stuff really grumpy like I'm talking to the lady and I'm thinking if you work in a Disneyland this would be awesome and she literally just throws a change across the counter and people couldn't be bothered sweeping the floors and there's tumbleweed going through the middle of this place it didn't look like Disneyland anymore and I went back I went back home to where we were staying and I asked Laura my friend who is a Florida local on the space coast over there in Florida I said what is the deal with these people here is this is what you like in Florida and she said haven't you heard what are you talking about she said they've shut the space program down people were depressed people lethargic people couldn't care because they lost that sense of mission one of the greatest things that ever came out of the American nation was the dream to move beyond beyond our atmosphere beyond our moon beyond our solar system and for the first time since the 1960s that had been snuffed out people no longer on that place had a mission and it affected them you need a mission guys you see how Paul in the confines of a house arrest continued to preach boldly without hindrance for two years how because his significance was not tied up in his circumstances his significance was tied up in his mission friend are you living for something bigger tonight are you living for something bigger tonight there is significance in being part of something beyond yourself just ask the staff at the Kennedy Space Center and what we said at night is that God's mission is a mission that matters and it can't be shut down by a government decision our mission is to convince others of God's mission corporately as a church and individually as witnesses of his transforming power in our lives sort of power that you're sort of knight in baptism and the testimonies guys you are a preview of God's great story of rescue I love previews I love movies I'll leave you with my favorite one I might have shared this before but my favorite movie as a kid was called The Last Starfighter about a guy called Alex Rogan lived in the caravan park at the back of LA somewhere played an arcade game called The Last Starfighter and what he discovered is one day that someone came down from out of space an alien and said greeting star fighter you you have been recruited to defend the frontier against Zuhr and the codown armada it it whisk him into the car it takes him up into space he sees all these aliens and and and this entire other world out there and and and he becomes part of this in the whole base gets blown up and it's just him left with his little friend Alex he's been missing for a number of weeks his family is starting to get worried his girlfriend Maggie is wondering where he's at it comes down and and one night there is this almighty rumble at the caravan park and as everyone walks up to the top hill runs up there to see what is going on they see a spaceship to send out of the sky and land outside the front of the caravan park and from the top of this five-story spaceship Alex Rogan in space outfit comes down helmet and all he meets everyone he tells him of this world that's out there this other world you wouldn't believe it guys but it's true I've seen it I've witnessed it and he turns to his girlfriend Maggie and says you can come with me you can be a part of this come join me and as he holds out his hand to her she says what about grandma I'm thinking what about grandma I take you to space come on guys the book of acts is not so much about the beginning of the church or people of great faith but the god like a spaceship came down and landed in the middle of a caravan park that's what Bethlehem was for crying out that and confirmed once and for all that there is something other than this world and like Alex Rogan Jesus Christ comes down from heaven comes down and he holds out his hand to you tonight through his scripture and he says come join me on a mission in this other world that you cannot believe and sadly some of you tonight if you're not a believer in him we're going to turn around and say what about grandma what about grandma guys whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian god is on a secret mission to rehab the world and he's doing it through his church and he's doing it through individuals like you and I you can be you are to be a preview for the most incredible wonderful unbelievable story that this world has ever seen let's pray heavily father we just thank you for Jesus tonight we thank you in a world that is broken that is decaying that we can't find answers for around us that there is something other that there is something different and you call us into that through you son Jesus Christ father as we have traveled through these words of yours thousands of these words of yours in the book of ox may we be ever more convicted as a small church on this little corner of the earth that the story is not over that acts was just the end of the beginning and now as a church united as a church empowered by a holy spirit we continue to live it out to walk it out to preview that story into the rest of the world help us do it you did it through your holy spirit it's how you'll do it today and in that way we pray this in Jesus name amen [BLANK_AUDIO]