The Big Picture

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0:00amen and hallelujah. It's good to be in the house of the Lord, fellow children of God, beloved by the Lord. I like that. It's true. It's very true. There's no greater thing than to know God and be known by Him and to be loved by Him. So we are starting Acts today. We should be through with it. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know yet. I don't know yet. We're not going to be straight all the way through Acts. We're going to do one through two first in about, I think, about seven weeks. So there's a lot in one and two, a lot of good things there. So those of you who may remember this know that about a year and a half ago, I finished through preaching through Luke. Again, another off and on sermon series. And you may know this, that Luke wrote both the gospel of Luke and Acts. So Acts is kind of like a sequel to his gospel. Now, in the movie world, sequels have a mixed reputation, right? Bad sequels greatly outnumber good sequels.

1:23For every one Godfather 2, there are dozens of movies like Caddyshack 2, Jaws of the Revenge, Speed 2, Cruise Control. They wanted to put it on a boat that time. Lame sequels are terrible. You almost know from the very beginning, in the first five minutes of the movie, if it's going to be a good sequel or a bad sequel. A bad sequel is just a cash grab. It's the same characters, same formula, same plot line, just regurgitated again in maybe a new setting, like, you know, Home Alone 2, Lost in New York. It's the same thing, just he's in New York now. So what makes a sequel like The Empire Strikes Back so great? Well, when it takes the characters and it develops them further, when it furthers the storyline, it takes the storyline even further, and when it expands the universe that you are entering into, it shows that it's even bigger than you thought. Well, I've got good news for you. Acts is a great sequel. It's not a bad sequel. It's not a cash grab. It's a great sequel. And this book occupies a really important place in scripture. It tells us what happens next, what happens after Jesus's life, death, and resurrection. There's character development. There's a progressing storyline. There's an expanding universe. All the hallmarks of a great sequel. But it's a great sequel for another reason, and this is the one I really want you to pay attention to. It shows us what life is like as God's people in between his first coming and his second coming. It was written to people long ago, but there's still people like us in between Christ's first and second coming.

3:26The first audience that got this book, it was people just beyond the apostolic age. There's a lot of commonality we have with things that we read in Acts. Now, I know there are unique one-time events in Acts. There's lots of them. That was a time of apostles. There aren't apostles anymore. It was a time of continuing special revelation, word from the Lord that was binding for all the churches. That's not true anymore. It was a time of brand new developments in the even those things that happen. Tell us about the time that we live in, because we are still people in between with one side of us, the ascension of Christ. And on the other side of us, we await his return in glory. So there's much for us to learn here. This is not just history. This is telling us about life right now in 2026. The people that got this letter, they weren't around for AI.

4:35And computers in your pockets. They didn't know anything about the possibility of us going to the moon. But we're still the same in the same era of salvation history in between Christ's first and second coming. And so we learn a lot about what it means to follow him from reading Acts. It's not just history. It's for us today. So let's let's turn to Acts one. Let's start with the first five verses of Acts. This is God's word for us today. Comes to us from the Lord with his authority, with his truthfulness, his faithfulness to us. He promises for it to be living and active in us. Beloved, he wants to feed you today. He wants to nourish you today to convict you, to challenge you, to encourage you. So let's come with open heart with open hands, with open minds and hearts. Let's receive from him today. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which he said, you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not many days from now. Pray with me, Lord God, thank you for your promise, for your faithfulness, for your power to fulfill your word. Lord, we receive this letter in the same

6:41way that our brothers and sisters in a previous era did, Lord. And we stand with them eager to hear from you, eager to be changed by you. Lord, teach us what it means to be your people, how to walk in this world distinctly, differently, faithfully, actively. Lord, the only way that new life is going to happen in us is if you do it. And yet this is your purpose to take clay vessels like us and cleanse us and renew us, put us back together, restore us and sanctify us for holy purposes so that you would be glorified in us. So do that work, Lord. We're eager for you to do it. Please supply our every need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay. These first few, first five verses are the big picture of Acts. Our daughter Cadence has just started her first year at NC State. She has a lot to get acclimated to. She's got new places, new buildings, a campus to learn, new clubs, groups of people, classes, new systems, processes, new rhythms of life, where to do her laundry, where to get the best food on campus. So this is why people like her have freshman orientation because there's a lot to learn. You can't learn it all, but you can at least get started and you get acclimated to get oriented to your new environment. This passage is like freshman orientation for Acts.

8:45It introduces the big three themes of the book, and I want to put those up on the screen here. Here's the three themes of Acts. The kingdom of God, the promises of redemption, and the reign of Christ. Every passage in the whole book has to do with one or more of these themes. Now these themes are interconnected. You can hardly start talking about one before you end up wanting to talk about and connect with the other two. And we can't be exhaustive on these themes today, and there's no need to be because it's going to be developed as we go through Acts. But instead, what I want you to know is that these themes have relevance to your life. They matter to you. This is not a theology class.

9:38This is instruction on Christian living. These themes of kingdom and promise and reign, they address the things that we all want and we all need. God is giving us different answers to the questions that we have, the questions that drive us to search away from him and apart from him for the things that we were made for. And he is showing us in Acts. See here? Here is what you are after. Here is what your heart really wants. Find it in me. So with that in mind, let's look at these three themes.

10:19The first one tells us that we have a new place to belong. A new place to belong. Sometimes at the beginning of a sequel or part two of a series, it'll start with a little recap of what happened. Luke begins the book of Acts in the same way. He repeats some of the material that he just wrote in his gospel. One of those things that he repeats is the ascension of Christ. That's found at the end of Luke. We're going to get to that next week. But in both books, Luke also mentions this 40 day window, 40 days in between Jesus's resurrection and his ascension. 40 days where he showed up when he wanted on his own timetable. He showed up for all kinds of reasons. He wanted to reassure them that he was really alive. But it was also a time of teaching. This was the greatest intensive time of study ever that anyone had ever experienced. 40 days with Jesus off and on. He taught them how to read the Old Testament with him at the center of it. He talked about the future. He talked about what would happen next. I mean, think of this 40 days sporadically being taught by Jesus. How could you possibly summarize that? What's the big title? What's the big heading? Well, fortunately, Luke does. He gives us the title, the heading of this. He says Jesus was speaking about the kingdom of God. This is the big topic. The central theme that ties together everything that Jesus was telling them in that 40 days. Jesus had already mentioned the kingdom many times before when he was on the earth doing his ministry. The gospel of Luke mentions the kingdom of God more than any other gospel. Look at this.

12:21Jesus said there, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. The kingdom is like a mustard seed, he said. It's small. It's unrecognizable. It's unremarkable. You might even overlook it. It's not announced with fanfare and with trumpets, but eventually it grows to be something so big that birds can make nests in. Even when it's small, Jesus said, the kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. Something that if you found and you saw a for sale sign in that field. If you had any sense, you would sell everything that you had so that you could buy that field. It's small, it's unremarkable, but it's also incredibly valuable. And in Luke 11 20, Jesus says this, if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Here's the thing that I want to say, you've got to hear this. The kingdom of God is not a far off destination. It is not some never, never land that you will get to eventually. The kingdom of God is here now. It's the manifestation of God's rule. When Jesus cast out demons, it showed that the kingdom was coming near. And when he rose triumphant over sin and death, it was the inauguration of Christ's kingdom. The kingdom has already come. Now it's not here in fullness.

14:18That's one of the things we'll see in Acts. It is both here already and not yet here in fullness, but it is here in some part. This is why the kingdom is the central theme of his 40 day teaching, because the kingdom of God is where his people live now. It's the setting we inhabit. You are in the kingdom of God, children of God, if you belong to him. But notice whose kingdom is it? It's not the kingdom of Joel. It's not the kingdom of you. It's not the kingdom of new creation. It's not the kingdom of America. It's the kingdom of God. Listen, God is not interested in having a spare room in your kingdom. He doesn't want your key. He doesn't want you to make the bed in some spare room and invite him in every now and then. God, you can come in whenever you want. Mi casa es su casa, God.

15:33Whenever you want, God says, no, no child. He calls you to live in his kingdom. Leave your kingdom. It's way lamer than you think and come into mind. Sometimes you don't have to raise your hand, but do you ever feel like sometimes Jesus is far away? Do you ever feel like you hear his call? You know what he wants you to do, but it feels so unappealing. Well, consider this is is it because you expect him to build your kingdom when it should be the other way around. God's calling you into his kingdom for you to find your place to belong in his kingdom. And we all want a place to belong. That's the heart desire that we all have. We want a community. We want to be from someplace.

16:43We want to say, those are my people. Those are my customs. I know my way around. I know how things work. I know what's expected of me. You know what that's like when you're from someplace, you feel connected to someplace. We search for that unconsciously all the time. And when we find it, we leave our heart there. We'll leave our heart there, even when we're far away from it. In Acts, God is telling us we don't have to search for some earthly community or kingdom. He's given us a place right now. If you've been to an amusement park or you've been to the mall or a campus right past the entrance, there is usually a big display. It's a big map. It shows you all the buildings, the different floors of the building.

17:45All the walkways, the significant sites, this big map. Can you picture it? And what is there on the map that you're looking for? You are here. Exactly. You're looking for that big red arrow. Thanks for the map, but tell me where I am. You are here. The book of Acts is that map of the kingdom of God. And you are here. You're in it. You're already in it through Christ, if he is your savior. And the book of Acts shows us what the kingdom of God is like. The culture, the practices, the blessings, the sacrifices, the joy, the cost. It tells us who else is there. It tells us how we're to relate to each other. It gives us examples of that. It gives us a real vision for this place. And it says, if you are in Christ, you are here. And we're not meant to look at it like we're some anthropologists looking at some distant kingdom, some faraway land. Oh, I hope I get there someday. It's here now. You're called to live in it, to feel a sense of belonging to it, to want to learn how it operates and who else is there and how to relate to each other, to get to know the customs and the practices of the kingdom of God. Acts gives us a vision and it helps us to live in a kingdom that otherwise we might overlook. Because after all, it is a mustard seed in some ways. It's invisible. Sometimes his kingdom is not of this world, but it is here even now. It's the reason why we're together.

19:47But I don't want you to think that the kingdom is just when we gather. The kingdom is also when you repent of your sin and new life comes in and you give over more of your heart and your life to the rule of God. The kingdom is there when you turn your cheek to your enemy, when you suffer and rejoice in it, when you find new ways to praise God, when you serve someone in love. That's the kingdom of God. You're living in it. You're experiencing it. The kingdom is a place of mutual service, of forgiveness, of dependent prayer, of looking forward in hope. That's the place that we are meant to belong.

20:38That's the place to put your heart. That's where you're from. That's where you live. Here's the second thing. The book of Acts gives us a new story to embrace. Now, Jesus says there's something about the kingdom that's about to happen. A new thing. Jesus told them, in fact, he ordered them to stay in Jerusalem, to wait. Something's coming. It's big. I told you about it. It was back in the upper room at the last supper when he said, I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever. If you've ever had a package that's coming and you have to sign for it, you know how important it is to wait. They, they will not just leave it on the door. You have to be there. You might rearrange your whole day just so you can be there waiting for that package to arrive.

21:45Maybe it's something that you ordered. Maybe it's something expensive. Jesus says, this is even better. This is from God. And even more, Jesus says, it is the promise of the father. And that word promise is a big word, a very weighty word. He's talking about ancient things that God spoke of sacred words, words that came from prophets a long time ago, words like this. It's shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Isaiah. I will pour my spirit upon your offspring and my blessings on your descendants. Ezekiel. I will put my spirit within you. The apostles are being told guys, all of these long foretold prophecies of what God is going to do someday. It's about to happen. They will experience its fulfillment and they will. And many, many others too. And that's just the start all over acts is mention after mention of this is what the prophet spoke of. This is what the Lord told us would happen. Go and search the scriptures.

23:19They're not just giving you proofs. They are telling you the saving purposes of God are coming to pass or in a way that I think is maybe more helpful for us. This is like an unfolding story that God is writing. The story of redemption. In Acts, we are reading the pages of the story of redemption as it is coming to pass. In Acts, we see that story progress and take shape, develop and expand. God is at work and it's not random. It's the gradual outworking of what he promised in every age moving forward his plan. So here's where you and I come in through faith in Christ. We are written into his great redemption story. People of God. If you're in Christ, you are like Moses and Esther and Amos and Rebecca and Boaz and Ruth. We are woven into this cosmic narrative by grace. This is important because we are story oriented people. What makes a movie or a musical or a book or even a video game better?

24:44A storyline. A storyline, right? If it's a good storyline, that makes it better. It heightens the experience. The arc of a well-written storyline is beautiful. It conveys meaning and substance and order. And we want our lives to have that kind of story, don't we? We crave it. I want my life to be like what I read in this book. Everyone wants their life to have meaning and significance. Nobody wants their life to be marked by chaos and futility. No. We want order and structure and development and a triumph.

25:36Some people are resigned to not ever having that story in their life. I'm a screw up. I'm a nobody. That's the storyline that they've adopted for themselves. That's their narrative. And other people are still trying to get it any way they can through their resume, their kid's success, their family name. I will find any way for my life to have that kind of arc, that kind of storyline. But no matter what we accomplish or build or get credit for, the story that we write on our own never has a happy ending. It does not accomplish anything of lasting good. Read Ecclesiastes. Three or four generations later, it's all gone. Someday history will forget Elon Musk. As significant and as much of a mover and a shaker he is right now, he will be forgotten. On our own, our life is full of striving and emptiness, fulfillment always out of reach. All of our, all of our successes will be lost to the sands of time, like a sandcastle on a beach washed away. But in Acts, we see a new option put in front of us to take part in God's story of redemption, not as a passive observer. You're not just watching what God does, but as an active participant. Now listen, you won't be a major character. You're not going to get a starring role. You're not going to be top of the marquee, but you will have a role. So here's the truth.

27:35Here's the choice. You can either be the main character in a tragedy that you write, or you can be a side character in a great epic that God is writing. Now, which one would you choose? Which one do you want for your life? I know which one I want. Give me the side character role, Lord. I don't care how small it is. I just want to be in there somewhere to see your triumph, your victory, to see this story that you're writing, the things that you're overcoming, the enemies that I couldn't defeat on my own. I want to be part of that. Don't you? Through Christ, you are in that story.

28:19And in Acts, you see it move forward by leaps and bounds. You see what to expect as God's story continues to be written. It's a great story, which includes you. Yes, even you. Because in Acts, it gives us examples of people, person after person, ordinary people, so full of mistakes, sin, sin, confusion, bumbling around, who found their significance in God's story, who left behind their puny kingdom to be seeking God's kingdom and carried along into a work of eternal significance.

29:14If you were in Christ, that is you. And if you are not in Christ, that could be you today. Work that is promised and fulfilled in Christ. Here's the last theme and how it touches down to our life. We talked about the kingdom of God and the promises of redemption. Let's talk about the reign of Christ. Acts gives us a new ruler to follow. Like many sequels, Acts refers back to part one, the gospel of Luke. Luke covered a lot in that book. There's a lot of detail about Jesus's birth. We even get an episode from his childhood. It covered Jesus's public ministry, names of people that he healed and helped, many unique details, political titles, geographic locations, medical specifics. And then, of course, he covers Jesus's death and resurrection and even his ascension. Luke's gospel is the longest, the most comprehensive of the four gospels. What more is there to say? Well, according to Luke, plenty. In the first book, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Now, that word began is, again, a very weighty word. It tells us that there's more to come in part two, and it tells us who the main actor is. One of the most common misconceptions about Acts is that it's like a baton handoff. Jesus says, I did my part. Here you go, guys. You take it from here. Can't wait to see what you do. I'm cheering for you. In your Bible, just like in mine, if you turn to Acts 1, it'll say the Acts of the Apostles. Well, that title was added in the second century by the early church. It was not the title that Luke gave the book. And it's a shame in some

31:36ways because I think it perpetuates this misunderstanding that Acts is a baton handoff. Now, Jesus has stepped away. Luke says the first book is about what Jesus began to do. And the clear implication is that the second book is about what Jesus continues to do. The living, resurrected Christ appeared to them over 40 days. They touched him. They saw him eat. They watched him build a fire, make footprints in the sand. He is alive and he's giving commands, directing the action, and that continues after the ascension. Even the baptism of the Spirit is his work. It happens after he ascends, but John the Baptist said, and this is recorded in all four Gospels, Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. He will baptize you. Even though he's ascended, he will baptize you. The work of Christ doesn't stop at the cross and the empty tomb. Even after his ascension, he is driving the action forward. All throughout Acts, it is the it is Jesus who is now the exalted Christ at the right hand of the father, the one who has all authority and all power and all knowledge. He is the one acting. It's his acts. The exalted Christ. He's working through his people. People are called. They're changed. They're empowered. They're sent happens over and over. They're called. They're changed. They're empowered and they're sent. He is speaking here to the apostles whom he had chosen, but soon there's going to be more thousands, more tens of thousands, more as it expands out into the whole empire. And those people

33:34too become those people who are called and changed and empowered and sent people through whom Jesus is working. And that extends all the way to us in 2026. People of God, you are called and changed and empowered and sent by the risen Christ, by the exalted Christ. There's so much redeeming work needed around us and in us. Amen. Places where God's rule has got to come, where darkness needs to be pushed back, where life has got to come. It can feel overwhelming sometimes. But do not despair, beloved. Do not despair. You are not alone. You are not alone. You might say, well, what can I do? I'm so small. I'm weak. The work is so great. But that's exactly the purpose of God, to be glorified by bringing his redemption, not just to people like us, but through people like us. This is what we see in Acts. Jesus, to whom all allegiance is owed.

34:53Jesus, the one who directs and empowers his people, the promises of the redemption of God happen in the kingdom of God through the reign of Christ. That's Acts in a nutshell, and we're going to unpack it together.