A People Prepared: Off We Go!
Acts 1:6-11 ·August 30, 2026· Joel Passmore
Part of: Acts, A People Prepared
Pastor Joel Passmore challenges what we think we lack, showing how Jesus sends His people forward with purpose, power, and promise despite their unreadiness.
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We're in week two of a new sermon series on Acts. We're going to do Acts 1 and 2. Then we'll take a short break and then we'll come back to Acts soon after that. Decided to call this sermon series of people prepared for Acts 1 and 2 because a lot happens, a whole lot happens in these first two chapters of Acts and it's all really about preparation, preparation, preparing the people of God for what they are going to do now in this new phase. At the end of Acts 2, I'll fast forward a little bit.
At the end of Acts 2, we're going to see this new community that has emerged rather quickly and is already showing distinctive signs of new life. Remarkable, a remarkable community has been formed, established by Jesus. But if we're back in Acts 1 at the beginning of it, it starts with these leaders, this small group of leaders that Jesus has chosen and they're trying to get their bearings. So a lot is going to have to happen between where we are now and the end of Acts 2 and a lot will happen.
But these leaders are trying to get oriented about what it is they're supposed to do, this new reality that they're in. Last week I recapped their basic orientation and ours. In the book of Acts, we looked at the three big themes of Acts. Let's put them up here on the screen. It's the kingdom of God, which is our place, the place that we belong. The promise of redemption, which is the story that we are living in. And then the reign of Christ, who is our ruler, our leader, the one that we are following, the one who is still working.
So we're less than 10 verses in, and Jesus is already about to tell his leaders what they're going to do next. And they are already feeling unprepared. Any kids here feel unprepared for school starting? Yeah, probably more than just shook their head. The blank look on your face tells me that you're maybe unprepared. All the apostles can focus on is what they don't have. And this reminds me of when we were getting discharged from the hospital after Cadence was born, 18 years ago plus now.
And I remember that morning, it was our last day. Everything was, we were ready to go, at least according to them. But that feeling of Nikki and I like deer in headlights, like they're coming in and they're giving us these, and we can tell they're giving us like final instructions, like we're about to leave. And we're like doing anything we can to try to prolong, you know. What else do you want to tell us? Don't you want to write this down for us?
Or it's, you know, we just kind of, part of us kind of wanted to stay right there in that hospital room. You know, we were feeling rather unprepared. Any parents out there feel me on this one? Like, you're going to send us home? Just to, us? You know, we've never done this before, right? We're about to have a child in the home with us and we have to take care of this child. It's a little scary. But here's the deal. For these apostles, what they have through Christ is greater than what they realize.
They don't realize it yet. But they have been given a lot. It's not within them. Jesus is not like, just look in yourselves and you'll find what you need. No, no. He's like, I'm giving it to you. I am helping you. I am at work in you. And even what He withholds is designed to push them further into faith.
It's how creative and good and wise our Savior is. Even what He doesn't give us is for our good. And that's the main idea for today. What they already have and what they don't have, all of it is working in their favor to build them up and prepare them for what God has for them. And it's the same for you, people of God. It's the same for you. What He has given you is far more than you realize, even on your best day. And even what He withholds that you wish you had that He had given you is there to push you even further into faithfulness and trusting Him.
So let's read this passage. I forgot my Bible. It's over here. This is the Word of the Lord for us today. It's holy in every part. It comes to us from the only living and true God, the One who knows all things, who made us, who never lies, and who speaks to us for our good. So let us receive it with all of the eagerness and open-handedness that is in agreement with everything I just said. He loves us. He's true. He's reliable. Let's run to Him. Let's hear what He has to say for us today.
Starting in verse 6 of chapter 1. So when they had come together, they asked Him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And when He had said these things as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. Let's pray. Lord, thank You that these words are not a fable, not a myth, but this is history. And thank You that this history has a spiritual purpose for us. Thank You that You have told it to us by the working of Your Spirit through Luke who wrote it down.
And here now in 2026, this Word has purpose for us. You have a purpose for it in our lives. So, Lord, would You please wipe the veil from our eyes, clear the cobwebs away, make our hearts soft so that we can receive Your Word and that it will bear fruit in us. Change us, Lord.
Help us to be Your disciples, Lord. Give us strength in our legs so that we can take steps of faith and joy in our hearts to do it so glad that we are Your people, so glad that we're Your servants. For where would we be without You, Lord? We would be lost. We would be hopeless. We would have no hope, no future, but we have all of this in You. So, Lord, do all of this for us, for Your glory and for our good. In Your name we pray.
Off we go. Despite our lack, Jesus leads us forward with purpose, power, and promise. This spring and summer, some red-tailed hawks were nesting in our backyard, up in the pine trees of our backyard. We got to see a family of hawks. We more heard them than we saw them, getting raised over the course of many weeks, many months. We thought it was noisy when the parents were feeding these hatchlings, but when those hatchlings turned into fledglings, it was really loud, really noisy.
You may know this, some fledglings leave the nest on their own. Sometimes parent birds have to do a little bit of encouragement to get them to go out.
Like, literally, they will push them out of the nest sometimes. Mom, Dad, I'm not ready to fly. Yes, you are. Sometimes birds will bring food near the nest, but not into the nest. Just a few branches away, they'll have the food. It's up to you, fledglings. Leave the nest. Now's the time. Or they will sit on a nearby branch and just call to them. Just call to them. And that's probably what we were hearing. Just over and over and over, these parent birds calling, calling, calling.
Getting the birds, the little fledglings, the awkward, we saw this awkward hopping and bumbling around our yard from these little fledglings that didn't know what they were doing, could hardly fly, but they were out there because their parent birds had called them. I think the call of that parent bird to get those little hawks out of the nest is what we're hearing in this passage. Now, like all analogies, it's not perfect. It's not a perfect analogy.
But there seems to be some hesitancy from the disciples, from the apostles here. Are you picking up on that too? There's some hesitancy. Some naivete. They're young. Now, scholars think that they are somewhere in their 20s, all of them, maybe early 30s, a couple of them. That's pretty young for such a big moment. And not only are they physically young, but they're spiritually young. They're young in kingdom years. So, of course, they're a little hesitant, right?
So Jesus leads them out. Off we go. Come on now. Part of how he does it is by what they don't have. So we're going to start with this. What they don't have. So school's back in session. It's time to learn. Kids, who is excited about learning? Oh, I do hope there's some of you in the room that there's real excitement there, I sure hope. Some of you, not so much. Maybe it's mixed with other feelings. Did you know that the apostles were in school? The 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension were school for the apostles.
They learned from Jesus over those 40 days. I'm sure the apostles asked lots of questions during those 40 days. But in Acts, we only hear the one. We only hear one question. It comes at the very end of the course. It's graduation day, and the apostles have a question. Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
Kids, you know that asking a question in class is risky, right? It's risky to ask a question. It might reveal that you haven't been paying attention, like it did for me a lot of times in school. I would ask a question, and I could just tell by the look on the teacher's face, like he had just said that, and I was talking. It also might reveal that you just didn't understand. You were paying attention, and you didn't follow any of it. It's risky to ask a question, but when your teacher is Jesus, it's safe to ask a question.
Kids, when your teacher is Jesus, it's safe to ask them your questions. Now listen, a lot of people criticize the apostles for this question that they ask. They say that they're misguided. They say that they're being nationalistic. They're being political. That their question shows that they just don't get it. They still don't get it. Now, I'm not so sure that all the criticism of the disciples and the apostles here is warranted. Remember, what was the big overarching theme of Jesus' 40-day teaching?
We talked about it last week. Anybody remember? The kingdom of God. That was the big topic for 40 days. The kingdom of God. A kingdom that Jesus had already said had begun in Him and through Him. What did Jesus say was just about to happen? The fulfillment of God's long-ago promise in the Old Testament of pouring out His Spirit on His people. That was a big promise that all the people of God had been looking forward to for generations. When you consider that, their question is actually pretty understandable, right?
To me, the apostles are like little kids in the backseat of a car. And their family is hurtling down the interstate, going to the beach or to the mountains or to the national park or to the family reunion many states away. You ever been in the car on one of those trips, kids? You know what you're thinking.
You know you want to ask. It's right there in the front of your mind. With a lot of self-control, you might wait 30 minutes, maybe, to ask this question. But then you just blurt it out. Are we there yet? How much longer?
Why did kids ask that question? Well, because they've been listening to their parents, right? They know they're going someplace special and they're excited. They want to be there. And why do they ask? Because kids can't comprehend time and distance the way adults can comprehend it, right? I remember telling our girls, it'll be another six hours. Six minutes would go by. How much longer? Are we there yet? They can't understand minutes and hours, really.
Not enough life experience. Waiting 30 minutes feels like forever. That's the apostles. They have been listening. They're excited. But they can't comprehend this unfolding nature of God's kingdom. And Jesus answers like a loving and patient parent. He doesn't rebuke them. He doesn't say their question is dumb. He simply says it's not for you to know. It's not for you to know the times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority. Maybe parents try that next time your kids ask on a car show.
This gentle answer tells us a lot, okay? First, it tells us that although the kingdom has been inaugurated, it's not been consummated. The kingdom is not here all the way. It's still coming. It's been inaugurated, but it's not consummated. Remember, the kingdom is where we live. So we live in a construction zone. You ever lived in your house when you're remodeling it? Some things work. Some things don't work. Right now, we should expect both struggle and victory in the kingdom of God, okay?
Struggle and victory. That's our life because we live in a construction zone. But second thing is this. His answer tells us that the conclusion is planned. The times the apostles are asking about, they have been fixed. They've been set. We are not stuck in an endless loop, okay? The story has an end. The Father has already written it. He is not making it up as He goes along.
It's not that the plans aren't made. It's just that we're not told. If God has a Google Calendar, He has not shared it with us. He has not shared permissions. He's not given us view access to His Google Calendar. And here's the thing. He wants us to prioritize the kingdom of God without a deadline. Now that's the big takeaway. That's what He is pushing the disciples towards. And He's pushing you towards. To prioritize the kingdom of God without a deadline.
To walk by faith, not by schedule. Oh, do you think I was going to say sight? To walk by faith, not by schedule. Anybody here ever procrastinate? Kids, you can raise your hand too. There's a lot of reasons why we procrastinate, but here's one of them. We are more easily motivated by urgency than we are importance. And if we push it off long enough, it'll be urgent.
Just because something is urgent doesn't mean it's important. The constant stream of small things that demand attention, immediate attention, keep us from focusing on the more important matters in our life.
Business people and executives call this the tyranny of the urgent. I don't know if you've ever heard that phrase. The tyranny of the urgent. I heard that phrase when I worked as an engineer, but I learned this week that that phrase didn't come from a business context. It was written by a staff worker with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Did you know that? In 1967, Charles A. Hummel wrote a pamphlet. He was talking about daily worldly matters diverting our attention from eternal spiritual matters.
Here's what he says. There is an insidious tendency to neglect important tasks that do not have to be done today or even this week. Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important. It's super ironic that this advice has been applied by corporations and executives to get business people to be more effective. Because this wasn't business advice at all. It was kingdom advice.
Church, Jesus withholds the schedule from you out of wisdom. If he told you the schedule, we might put off any action on it until it was about to arrive. Right? You know yourself. I know me. I would put it off. So would you. He withholds the schedule to push us to prioritize it so that it matters right now. To treat it with importance because of what it is, not when it's arriving. He doesn't tell us the deadline. It's up to us, he says. Make it a priority right now.
Treat it important. Even though you don't know when it's coming. Not because of when it will fully arrive. Can you live that way? Can this church live that way? Always putting the kingdom of God at the top of the priority list. Even if we don't really see where it's happening, where it's moving, where it's coming in fullness, where it needs to happen. And when it's all going to finally come into practice.
Can we live with a priority on the kingdom of God without a deadline? There's something else the apostles don't have. And we don't have this either. I think Jesus has a sense of humor right after he has challenged them to embrace the kingdom. Disciples, apostles, you've got to get your eyes on the kingdom. I'm not going to tell you when it's going to come. You've got to prioritize it. Jesus, where are you going? Wait, wait, come back. I had about five more questions for you.
Are you seriously going to tell us that and then leave? He's lifted up. And he gone. He could have just disappeared like all the other times when he would teach them and just disappear, right? But he publicly and visibly ascends, right? Showing his glory. The mention of a cloud here, it reminds us of all the times in the Old Testament when God appeared with a cloud.
But of course, Jesus is not dwelling in the sky. He's in the spiritual realm. He's the exalted son of man that Daniel spoke about in chapter 7. He's not sitting on a cloud. He's sitting on a throne. At the right hand of the Father. We're going to get into all this in just about two or three weeks. But for the apostles, this distinctive way of leaving, it shows them that this is the new normal. This is permanent. This is happening. Peter, James, John.
It's happening. He has left. The 40-day period when he might appear at any moment and give them some more teaching. Answer their questions. It's over. He's physically left.
They might be thinking, Lord, you can't possibly expect us to do this without you. And you know what? They're right. He doesn't and they won't. But it's now a spiritual presence. He's physically absent, but spiritually present. And he's going to prove that to them over the coming weeks and months and years. But this is still a very strange new thing for them to get used to. They've been following Jesus for three years. But this is the way it has to be.
For one thing, there's going to be millions upon millions upon millions of followers of Jesus someday. After these apostles in this moment, right? All of those disciples can't possibly be around the physical Jesus all the time. But there's another reason why Jesus leaves, I think. He leaves so that he can take the throne. He leaves because it's impossible for everyone to be led by him physically when there are so many millions. But he also is doing it to fight our passivity.
During the earthly ministry, think about the disciples following Jesus. Imagine it. Many times they were asked a question by someone. Someone came up to them limping. Someone came up to them with a question, with an accusation. The religious leaders, they rounded a corner and they saw the religious leaders marching towards them. How many times do you think the disciples glanced over at Jesus in those moments? Right? To see how he would respond? To wait to react until they saw him react?
To wait to speak until they saw him speak? All the time in those three years. That's normal, but Jesus knows it can't stay that way. Remember the time when there was a multitude of people who were hungry? And the disciples would come to him, Jesus, look at all these hungry people. And what does he say to them? You give them something to eat.
Now he ultimately does a miracle, right? But he's getting them ready. What are you going to do when I'm not here? His ascension means a new phase of trust, following him without his physical presence. Jesus is pushing for them to grow. He knows they need it. And so do we. Because just like we struggle with procrastination, we struggle with passivity, right? We're afraid of getting something wrong. We think, well, somebody else will just take care of it.
I don't have to do what the Holy Spirit is tapping on my shoulder and do. He calls us to follow him even though we can't see him. To walk by faith, not by sight. Literally. Literally. Literally. If he was here in the room, you wouldn't be looking at me and you shouldn't. Right? I would sit down. He would get up and we would listen to him for as long as he would teach us. Right? And then all of us would want him to go home with us. Right? Jesus, come with me.
Let me give you lunch. No, no, no. Another family. No, no, no. Jesus, come with me today. I call dibs on him. Right? We would be pulling him in all kinds of different directions. And the ones of us that went home and didn't have Jesus, we would be thinking, I wonder what they're talking about.
That's no way to live as the people of God. Right? He had to ascend to usher us into this new phase. We have to internalize his teaching, people of God, to digest his word and apply it to our thinking and our acting. We have to learn to walk without seeing every step he takes. We have to learn to speak without hearing every word he says. This is the way it has to be. This is the life of faith. And so this is my encouragement to you through the scriptures.
Say no to passivity in your spiritual life. Take ownership of your spiritual life. Jesus is not physically here with you. He is spiritually here. But are you taking him in? Are you abiding in him? Are you trying to be led by him? To listen to him? To speak in accordance with him? To walk in accordance with him?
He will lead you. Seek him. So that's what they don't have. It pushes them forward. But let's, I'm going to close with this. There is a lot that they do have. And we have it too. Here are the three things. The first thing they have is they have purpose. And you have purpose. In the kingdom of God. Like I said earlier, all analogies break down at some point. And the analogy I made earlier about the apostles being like kids in a car going on a trip.
It breaks down in a couple ways. The kingdom is not a destination. It's not a far off destination. I literally said that last week. It's here now. We're not on a trip towards it someday. And maybe someday we'll get there. It's here now. And the other thing is God's people are not passengers. We're not riding in the back seat. We are called to be active participants and indeed bringers of the kingdom of God now.
Do you see yourself that way? As a bringer of the kingdom of God? That is what you are. And how are you a bringer? Well, Jesus says it here in this passage. You will be my witnesses. The primary calling of God's people is to witness. To tell the truth about Jesus. His identity. His work. His power. That begins with the apostles. They're literal witnesses. Eyewitnesses. That's part of what makes them apostles. That's why we don't have them anymore.
But it's not for them only. If you turn to Christ and you've trusted in Him, you are called to be a witness. Now, you and I haven't seen Him in person. But you've seen His work. Isn't that true? You see His work every day. If you have eyes to see it. We've seen people changed and renewed in Him. Think of them now in your mind. People that you know are different because of Jesus.
You've seen life and joy and peace that you can only explain as outworkings of the rebirth of the Holy Spirit. You've seen that in individuals. You've seen that in communities. And you've seen that in yourself.
You have a purpose, people of God, to be witnesses. Dwell on where you have seen Him working. If you were called to the stand right now, you're called as a witness, testify the work of God, the work of Christ around you in your life, what would you say? I hope you would have an answer. I know the Spirit would help you. And I hope it would be long. I hope they would be like, okay, that's enough. We've got to call our next witness. We have a lot to say if we think about it.
And we're called to say it. That is your role. That's your central. That is the middle, the center, the heart of your role in the kingdom of God is to be a witness. Now, this certainly includes evangelism. We cannot say that it's not that. It definitely includes that. But it is more than that. When you remind your brother and sister in Christ of the hope they have in Him, you are witnessing to Christ. You're testifying to Christ. When you take responsibility for your sin and you repent, you better believe you're witnessing to Christ there.
Who does that except for spirit-transformed people? Parents, when you pray with your kids, you're witnessing to Christ. When you go and you take care of a loved one, your parent, your aunt, a neighbor, because they're sick, you're witnessing to Jesus.
See your purpose. Embrace your purpose. Everyone here has it. Now, we can't live in that purpose in our own strength. And that's why He's going to send help. The second thing that we have is power. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Jesus knows that even the side character role that He's given us in His kingdom, we cannot do on our own power.
It's too much for us in the story of redemption. It's too important of a story. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. But in Him, we can bear great fruit. And everything He asks us to do, He empowers us to do. Now, I need you to hear that. But, He may be asking you to do difficult things in your life. Everything He asks you to do, He empowers you to do. Everything. To rejoice in suffering. To be patient in affliction. To persevere in love. He empowers you to do that.
Don't rely on your own strength. Look at what the disciples have been told they're going to do. Jesus sketches out the next chapters here. This is like a little window into the rest of the book of Acts. And the rest of the story of redemption. It starts in Jerusalem, He tells them. You're going to be My witnesses in Jerusalem. The religious capital of Israel. It will go next to Judea. Judea traces its roots to the southern kingdom. It's going to also go to Samaria.
That place of mixed religious heritage. It traces its roots back to the northern kingdom. In 1 Kings 12. And finally, that witness is going to go to the ends of the earth. To the Gentiles. To all the nations. In one sentence, Jesus has sketched out the whole rest of the redemption story. The fulfillment of the promises of God. The reunification of the southern and northern kingdoms that Ezekiel 37 talks about. The ingathering of the Gentiles that Isaiah talked about.
That Abraham was promised. This goes all the way back. And all of it, it happens not through political victories, military conquests, but through ordinary people. It could have been you or me, friends, if we had been born in that time. But you know what? It is through you and me now in this time. The kingdom of God. The promises of redemption unfurling as we testify about Jesus. The only name under heaven and earth by which people can be saved. The risen and exalted Christ, Lord over all.
The last thing Jesus gives is a promise. After he said these words incredibly, inexplicably, without warning, he was lifted up. His apostles stared into the sky, transfixed. Can you imagine yourself as one of them? Could he really be going? Is this really happening? Look, I think I can still see him. If I kind of squint my eyes.
It reminds me, I don't know why, it reminds me of taking a loved one to the airport. And getting to the security line. And you stand there and you watch them go through the line. Take off their shoes. Put their stuff on the belt. Go through security. They look up and you wave and they wave back.
You know, years ago, you used to be able to go all the way to the gate with someone. And you would watch them go through the gate and walk down the jetway. And you might go to a window and see if you can see them in one of the little windows of the plane. Get in their seat.
You might watch the plane taxi. Watch it take off. And now you're the one squinting into the sky. All of that comes from this longing, right? Why did you have to go? I still want you here. But all of that waiting after they're out of your presence, it doesn't bring them back, right? They're still gone. It took the appearance of two angels standing by the apostles to snap them out of it. Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
The disciples needed to hear this and so do we. If you've ever been staring in the sky, longing, Jesus, I just want you to do this one thing and you're kind of stuck there.
The problem isn't the waiting. The problem isn't the longing. The problem isn't the prayers. The problem is the lingering. The angels pushed them forward with this promise. This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him.
He will return. It will be glorious and unmistakable. Until then, we don't have to keep looking up. The apostles and we need to walk by faith and work as we wait. We need to get to work while we wait and not stare, transfixed, passive, indecisive, transfixed, lingering. Jesus has called us into action and he gives us a promise. You don't have to keep looking up. I will return and you won't miss it. Brothers and sisters, he is going to return. We don't know when, but he will.
The ending has been written. Until then, walk by faith. Work while you wait. Let's do this together.