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Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

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Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

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They watch until he goes into the clouds and is no longer seen, but you're still watching him, wondering, is he gonna fall or what's going on? You know, just overwhelmed with all these questions and wonder. And these two guys show up in white apparel and say, What are you doing? What do you mean, what are you doing? And they said, you know, Jesus has work for you to do. Stop looking up. He's coming back, but he's got work for you to do.

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At times, it seems like believers adopt a chill approach to life, simply hanging out and waiting for Jesus to return so they can join him on that incredible journey. But have you ever thought about the fact that God has a unique plan just for you? In today's message, Pastor Carl invites you to step into your role as an active believer, ready to respond to God's calling, and wholeheartedly embrace the amazing plan he has for your life. Through you, God will guide others towards the gift of salvation. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

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The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of these things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The book of Acts starts out as an account written to a person named Theophilus. And there's another book in the Bible that's also written to Theophilus. It's the Gospel according to Luke. And so we gather that Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, even though his name wasn't either in the Gospel of Luke or in the Acts of the Apostles. But Paul mentions Luke a lot of times because Paul and Luke go back. Luke is not one of the twelve apostles. Luke is a Gentile. And Luke heard Paul when he came through his town and uh heard the gospel and was changed and became friends with Paul and went on many of his journeys as well. Luke, by profession, was a doctor, a physician, and because Luke is a doctor, and doctors are usually very detailed. And God put a burden on his heart to make a detailed account of what Jesus did in his earthly ministry. And that's how he got the gospel of Luke. And he wrote it to this figure called Theophilus. And in Luke, he called him most excellent Theophilus. So many, many commentators believe that Theophilus was a Roman official that Luke became friends with, and Luke was sharing with him the gospel of Jesus and giving him the proofs of who he was. And Acts is a follow-up to the gospel of Luke, because there is so much more to be written about what happened after Jesus ascended into heaven. And so he writes to Theophilus, and he could have been a Roman official, but some believe he could just be that name just could be a synonym for us, because Theophilus means friend of God. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a friend of God. And this book is written for you. And I would say it's probably both. Theophilus was a real guy in a real official position that had influence, but it's also written to us, the friends of God, to be encouraged and to be built up and to be empowered for the work that God has for us. So, with that pretense, this is a follow-up to the book of Luke. So let's go back to the end of the book of Luke to see some of the things that Luke is talking about here at the beginning of Acts. In Luke chapter 24, beginning at verse 46, this is Jesus speaking his last words to the disciples before he ascends into heaven. He said, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. Jesus was saying, These things that you've seen in my life, the things that, the reasons I am here, the reason I came and I ministered among you, and I died the sinner's death on the cross, and I rose again, I'm speaking before you today. The reason I've done these is because it's been prophesied. It was written that these things needed to happen. And these things that have happened are things that I'm commissioning you to go and declare. Declare that Messiah has come. Christ, Jesus, God Himself became a man in order to save mankind. Christ came to suffer and die for the sinners. Christ died for sinners and he was buried. And on the third day he rose again to new life, that whoever would believe would have new life in him. And so you go out and you preach this and you repeat you preach repentance for remission of sins. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe in Jesus, the Messiah. He became a man, he lived the perfect life. He died the sinner's death on the cross and he rose again on the third day. And you're a sinner. And so you need to repent. You need to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus to find that living grace and that hope and that forgiveness, that remission of sins that is available in him and a new life in him. That is the message that I'm sending you out to preach, Jesus is saying. And where are we supposed to preach it? To all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem, because they were in Jerusalem. So he can say the same thing to us. This is your commission too. Go out and proclaim the gospel to the whole world, starting in Waynesville. Are you ready? That's the call. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. This is what I'm telling you to do. Don't do anything yet. Go wait in Jerusalem, because the promise of the Father is coming. The promise of the Spirit of the Holy Spirit of God, who is the power of God that comes from on high, and that's the reason I have to leave. I have to leave so the Holy Spirit can come. You need to wait for that Holy Spirit, because he'll give you the power to do what I've called you to do. And then in verse 50, he led them out of the as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and he blessed them. And now it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing and praising, praising and blessing God. Because they they saw the power of God before them. They saw Jesus ascend into heaven, and God had given them a call, a charge. And they in one accord agreed, they obeyed, they went back and they praised God. And they were praying and they were celebrating and they were blessing God for his goodness. That's how Luke wraps it up. Now in Acts, he goes back a little bit and fills in some of the blanks. Acts chapter 1, verse 4, and being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. John, remember, John the Baptist, he talked to you about this. And I don't want you to go and do what I've told you to do until I give you the tools to do it, until I give you the power to do it, until this Holy Spirit comes upon you. Now, do you remember this account? Back in Luke chapter 3, beginning in verse 16, this is John the Baptist speaking before Jesus was baptized by him. He said, I indeed baptize you with water. It was a water of repentance. It was a prepare your way for the Lord. Repent and get yourself ready, because the Lord is coming, and the Lord wants to make you right with him. Indeed, I baptize you with one with water, but one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Holy Spirit and fire. That's kind of scary sounding, isn't it? The Holy Spirit, I like that because that's like the power of God. That's like, yeah, bring it on. But the fire, fire actually has two connotations in the Bible. First, it's the judgment of God, and the following verses point toward that. His widowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather the weed into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. The fire of God is the judgment of God, and it's coming to this world, to an unbelieving world that has rejected God in the gospel. But it also represents the power of God in our lives, refining us from the inside out, empowering us with dunamis power, dynamite power, to accomplish the works that He has set ahead for us. Well, back in our study in Acts chapter 1, verse 6, therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? One of the things that they were asking him is, Wow, these things are like lining up, and things like that we were prophesied in the past about your coming kingdom and the Messiah that would set things right and put to the end our enemy, and specifically they were looking at Rome. Put Rome down and lift your kingdom up. Is this the time? Is this what we're what we're waiting for, Lord? Because that's what they remembered in the scriptures. And he said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. You see, there is more to the prophecies in the Old Testament. The prophecies in the Old Testament actually, in addition to the kingdom prophecies that the Lord is coming and He's setting up His kingdom and He's setting all things right, there is parts of that prophecy that talks about His first coming, where He would come to be the one to take away the sin of the world. We needed a Savior before we needed a victorious overcomer and a kingdom and a king. We needed to be right in relationship with Him. And He came and He's done that, and now He's leaving, and there's this idea that now we're to proclaim that gospel message. We're to get the word out and we're to reach all nations. Then it might be the time where I come back and set up my kingdom. But that's not for you to know, that's for the Father to know. So he's saying, wait, there's more work to be done. It's not the kingdom yet, but you have work to be done. In fact, the kingdom is alive in your hearts, but you need this power of the Holy Spirit to come upon you in order to accomplish this work. Now, I wanted to bring you back to John chapter 20 to show you that they already had received the Holy Spirit. Let me read this to you. John chapter 20, verse 19. This is after Jesus had risen from the dead, and uh then at the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for the fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said, Peace be with you. And whenever I hear these accounts of Jesus coming in in his new resurrected body, just showing up without the doors being opened, you know, just walking through walls or just showing up, hey, I'm here. I can imagine the the apostles and the disciples that were gathered together uh being a little shaken up. It's like, whoa! First, here's somebody that's not supposed to be in the midst because we've we've sealed everything up because we know the Jews are after us. But then it's kind of like a ghostly figure that shows up. Whoa! And it's scary. And what's always the first thing that Jesus said? Peace. Peace be with you. Don't be afraid. It's me. It's me, guys. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them again, Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also sent you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. At this moment, many theologians believe the disciples actually were born again when they received the Holy Spirit of God and they were changed. And they were given authority. They were given authority to forgive or not to forgive, to have the discernment of the Holy Spirit, to say, yes, these people have really turned their lives to the Lord and they've asked for forgiveness, and it's a true repentance in their heart, and we're going to repent and restore them to whatever position they were in, and so forth. So this idea that the Lord has come and he's given them the Holy Spirit and He's given them authority to do his work here on earth. And yet there was still this power missing that he's talking about here in the first chapter of Acts that would still come. Now in verse 9, when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up in a cloud and received out of their sight. It was out of sight. Verse 10, and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, and as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go up to heaven. And I wonder if these two guys are the same two guys that were at the open tomb by the empty bedside of Jesus where his body used to lay. These two guys that, well, all the disciples were just watching, because you just imagine being there at that point. Jesus is telling us these things. He says, wait, I'm gonna send you the Holy Spirit, and you have more questions, but all of a sudden he starts lifting up and he starts flying into the sky. And everybody's just watching. I can't believe I'm seeing this. And they watch and they watch until he goes into the clouds and is no longer seen, but you're still watching him, wondering, is he gonna fall or what's going on? You know, just overwhelmed with all these questions and and wonder. And these two guys show up in white apparel and say, What are you doing? What do you mean, what are you doing? We're looking at Jesus going up in the air. Have you ever seen that before? And they said, You know, Jesus has work for you to do. Stop looking up. He's coming back, but he's got work for you to do. So Jesus is coming back. How do we know he's coming back? This is one evidence we know he's coming back. How is he coming back? He's coming back in the clouds and he's gonna set foot on the Mount of Olives and it's gonna split in half. In other places in the Bible, it talks about doing that. So why do we believe it? Because Luke recorded it. Why do we believe it? Because there were hundreds of disciples there that watched this happen. And it happened. And the angels said, He's coming back. And they know because they hang out with them, right? So Jesus is coming back. Are you ready? And even more so, Jesus is coming back. Are we about doing the Father's business? Are we getting the gospel out? That's the question. Verse 12 then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath-day journey. A Sabbath-day journey is less than a half a mile, so it's not very far. After that, it's considered work. So a Sabbath day journey is a little less than a half a mile, and so it wasn't that far. And verse 13, and when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon, Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James. These, and wait a minute, how many do you count there? You got Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and Judas, the son of James. I count eleven. Who's missing? Judas Iscariot. And we'll talk more about him in just a little bit. So those are the guys that were there, along with verse 14, these all continued with one accord and in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. So the women that were with them were probably wives of a lot of the disciples. There were also women that had been with Jesus and the disciples to minister to them, people like Mary Magdalene that were with them, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with his brothers. So, yes, Jesus was the firstborn of Mary, and Mary had a few more children. And so there are a lot of half-brothers and sisters of Jesus. And it's interesting because here they are, they're sold out about their brother now. But it just has the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, they really didn't seem to like him growing up. And when he got into his ministry, they never really bought into it. They never really followed him until he died and rose again. And then their eyes were open and they started following Jesus. Now, one of the stories, Mark in chapter 3, verses 31 through 36, it kind of shows this about his mother and his brothers. Well, let me just read it to you. Then his brothers and his mother came standing outside, and they sent to him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting around him, and they said to him, Look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. But he answered them and he said, Who is my mother and who are my brothers? And he looked around in a circle at those who sat with him and said, Here are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother, pointing out that relationship with the Lord and with his people is closer than blood. Closer than even a brother situation. And these brothers, after this, you know, after the Lord came, after He died and rose again, they came to an understanding of who he really was. And they began to serve him. And they became even closer, you know, in a way, because now they're part of the family of God. Pretty neat. And Mark, by the way, Mark is an interesting fella. He's a young man that watched a lot of these things happen. And some commentators believe that his family owned the upper room in which the disciples met in and prayed in and did all these things. And so he was a witness of all these things as well. And that's where a lot of his gospel comes from. Just a little side note there. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the number of names were about a hundred and twenty. So there are about a hundred and twenty in that room. And Peter is moving into this position of leadership. He's standing up before them. And he says in verse sixteen Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled when the Holy Spirit spoke before the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was merciless. With us and obtained a part in this ministry. So apparently, Peter had been reading through the Psalms, and the Lord made something clear to him about some things that are written here that they also apply to this situation with Judas. Now, this first part that he's quoting from is probably a paraphrase of Psalm 41, verse 9, which reads, Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. So he's making a point that says, Okay, this was about Judas. And at this point, Luke goes and adds a little more commentary to what happened to Judas. Now, this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Akildama, which is field of blood. Now, of course, Luke is a doctor and he's very detailed, and so he said basically, Judas tried to hang himself, but he failed, and he fell on his head and his innards gushed out. And he died in this field. And if you look at other accounts, you see that you remember that Jesus had told and during the Last Supper, had told Judas to go and do what he needs to do and do it quickly. So Judas left and he went to go speak to the religious leaders. And he said, Hey, I could get you connected with Jesus, but it'll cost you 30 pieces of silver. So they gave him 30 pieces of silver. And after supper, as the disciples went up to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, Judas came and brought a mob with him and the religious leaders in order to betray the Lord.

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You've been listening to Come On Up with Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross. We're going through the book of Acts, which documents the life of the apostles and believers after Jesus Christ had died and was resurrected. Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? He came to earth to live a sinless life, to be the blood sacrifice needed to save all of mankind. Jesus died, but more than that, he rose again and has given us a hope and a future. We are no longer under the law of Moses, and instead we have the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! If you'd like to learn more about Jesus, visit our website, themountaincross.com, and click on how to know God. Again, that's themountaincross.com. Another great and fun resource we have is Faith Film Night, featuring great Christian movies from yesterday and today at the Smoky Mountain Cinema. Join us on the first Monday of every month. Learn more at themountaincross.com or Faith Film Night on Facebook. Come on up is the radio outreach of the Mountain Cross, a ministry out of Waynesville, North Carolina, and we would love to meet you in person. We meet at the Smoky Mountain Cinema Sunday mornings at 10 in order to grow in our faith by simply going through the Word of God verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Learn more about us at themountaincross.com. Thanks for listening, and we hope you come on up to the mountain with us again next time as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come on Up is sponsored by The Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.