Jesus' Ministry, the Sequel [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. The sound of the Gospel. There's a sound. There's a sound when it's really the Gospel.

There is an echo that comes into the heart, and it's a beautiful sound. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Unlimited, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I'm going to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special author. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org, or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Now, more on this later in the program, but right now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. He came to establish a spiritual kingdom that's going to touch the whole world. It wasn't about just reestablishing the borders of this one nation. It wasn't just about restoring something that David had, but maybe in a little bit better way.

This is about the glory of an invisible kingdom that will never end and will be available to every single person on earth. And they just didn't get the story yet. You know, you ever had a time like that where it's like you just didn't get it, or maybe you're somebody that just didn't get the story.

I don't know why it came to mind. I was remembering a time that my wife and I had one of the, when we were in youth ministry, and one of the high schoolers, for some reason we had gone to see a movie. It starred Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah called Roxanne.

And we went to see the movie together. This is a story that is a retelling of the famous Cyrano de Bergerac story. Steve Martin plays the character with an unseemly and unusually large nose. And he really loves the character Roxanne, but assumes that she would never want him with his large nose. And so as I remember it, Steve Martin I think is maybe a volunteer fireman or something. And there's an underling he has, a young man named Chris McConnell, who wants really to get to know Roxanne.

And so Steve Martin's character, whose name is C.D. Bales, like Cyrano de Bergerac, and he starts coaching the young man and giving him all of the things that he should say to Roxanne. And Roxanne falls in love with the young man, but she's not really falling in love with him, because she's really fallen in love with the things that he's saying, but all of it had been fed to him by the Steve Martin character. And in the end, like the Cyrano de Bergerac, we realize that, you know, it's all about the matters of the heart and how superficial we can be about our looks and so forth. And we got done with the movie and we were talking about, I thought this is a good point of communication with this high school girl about what really matters in life and everything. I remember she just said, I just think that movie had been a lot better if they'd been able to fix his nose at the end. And my wife and I just looked at each other, just got a laugh. It was just like, okay, you just don't get the story.

We watched the same movie and you still think it's about the size of his nose. That's not what the story is. The disciples are like, we still think it's about you setting up a political throat. Jesus is just like, you don't understand. You don't understand the story.

You realize that they don't understand a story in the way they act also and the things they say. You know, some, by one perspective, Judas, some scholars think, betrayed Jesus because Jesus wanted to escalate the political throne of Israel and thought that this would consummate the conflict, so to speak, and that maybe that's why he acted in such a rebellious way. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, teacher, we want you to do for us whatever you ask. And he said, what do you want me to do for you? And they said, grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left and your glory.

They're vying for, honestly, for political positions here. You see this when John 18, when Peter, who is so passionate, right, but when they get ready to take Jesus away, he had a sword and he draws it out and he struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. So Jesus had to say, put it away, put it away. What was Peter demonstrating?

He's saying, like, I don't, he's saying, I thought the story was about us taking control politically and he didn't understand the story. You look at Jesus' earthly ministry, it started with preaching the kingdom. It's a story about the restoration of the kingdom.

It's about all that he taught, making it clear that this is a story that was about his ultimate rule and it started in Genesis. Well, the Sunday of the simulcast of this message is, appropriately, excitingly, Pentecost Sunday. What a great day, there's no better day to start a series on the book of Acts than Pentecost. Pentecost doesn't get much attention, but arguably of Good Friday and Easter and Christmas and Pentecost, in some ways, Pentecost should be celebrated more than anything because this is the birth of the church of Jesus Christ and the flow and power of the Holy Spirit through the people of God who is with us forever. Pentecost comes from a Greek word that means fiftieth.

Penta means five, like you hear in words like the Pentagon, which has got five sides. And the roots of this go back to Leviticus chapter 23 where the feasts of Israel are described. And this is the feast that's in the center of the year.

It's an early summer. You shall count off seven full weeks from the day after Sabbath from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. So, this is a description of when Pentecost happens. It's seven full weeks after Passover and you shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. So, then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord. So, basically, to simplify this, Pentecost is called Pentecost because it comes fifty days after the Passover.

That's the simplest way to put it. Now, interestingly, the Jewish tradition, the rabbis, recognized that this has probably its roots in the imagery of what happened at Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is where the people gathered at the base of this mountain and Moses went and met with God and brought back the law, brought back the revelation.

Let me just show you a few texts here about that. Exodus 19 one. On the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

So, that is on the opening day of the third month is essentially to say that this is coming up on fifty days. But what happened is that Moses goes up on the mountain and there's all of this activity, if we look at verse 16, on the morning of the third day there were thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. You're already beginning to see, you think about Acts chapter two where there's wind that's blowing and fire that's coming and tongues of fire.

And this has echoes of all of that in Acts chapter two where you see this suddenness and the rushing wind and it fills the house and the tongues of fire. So, basically what happened was that you have these two events at Mount Sinai and then Pentecost at what's called Mount Zion, that's where Jerusalem is, both occurring on a mountain. The Israelites had left Egypt after that first Passover. Forty days later they arrived at Sinai. Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and ten days later Moses came down with the Torah, with the law. So, it was fifty days from the Passover and he brings down the revelation of God. What happened at Pentecost was Jesus had died the day after Passover, as part of the Passover feast, and then forty days later Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives and ten days after Jesus then ascended the Holy Spirit came down. What's interesting is that at Sinai when Moses came down with the Torah and the Israelites had already broken the covenant with God, three thousand people died, but when Jesus went to heaven from the Mount of Olives and the Holy Spirit came down, three thousand people were saved.

So, fifty days after sacrificing Passover lamb, the Israelites received a covenant from God and fifty days after sacrificing Jesus, our Passover lamb, we receive a new covenant that has been born in his blood. They're both events that are filled with fire and smoke and in fact the Hebrew word translated thunder in Exodus is a word that means voices or languages. The fire at Sinai was visible by all. The fire at Pentecost was individual tongues of fire on every person. In other words, the Jewish rabbis realized that the celebration of the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost as that festival was called is really find its roots at Mount Sinai where what happened at that first Pentecost was the revelation of God was given to the people of God. And what happened at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to the church?

Yes, there's power and there are gifts and we're going to talk about tongues, we're going to talk about the gifts of the Spirit, we're talking about all that, but the primary thing that happened was that the word of God began being proclaimed in all these different languages. All these people were gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival and they're all there and then all of a sudden started hearing the word of God proclaimed in their own language. In other words, it was God saying to us that this is what was foreshadowed at Mount Sinai. This is what was foreshadowed through the Feast of Weeks through the Pentecost festival that's been celebrated for over a thousand years. This is the revelation of God coming to the people of God. That's what Pentecost was all about.

And that is the story, is one story started in Exodus, spoken of in Leviticus and is fulfilled and continues in the book of Acts. That's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. If ever we've been ready for a new year, this is the year. As you start planning and dreaming for a great new year, we want to help.

Alan Wright Ministries has produced a beautiful inspiring wall calendar with you in mind. Each month not only depicts the month in a heart-stirring image, but also includes a specially crafted blessing for the month from Pastor Alan. As Pastor Alan explains in his new book, The Power to Bless, which releases February 2nd and is available from Amazon for pre-order now, blessing is a biblically based faith vision over your life.

God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply. Blessing isn't the reward for your productivity, it's the fuel for it. The 2021 blessing wall calendar gives you space to write down all your important appointments and make plans for a wonderful new year. And most importantly, each time you see the beautiful image for the month, your heart will be strengthened by the empowering blessing statement from Pastor Alan. This year, don't just organize your life, bless your life with the 2021 blessing calendar. It is our gift to you when you make a donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. Contact us today and start your year out right by the power of blessing. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.

Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Okay, so it's a sequel. It's a sequel because the main character is Jesus. It's a sequel because it's the same story.

Hey, let me just mention this also. You know something that's always interesting and you've got a sequel to something, especially in a movie or a TV series or something like that. You can always count on this, so you have the same theme music. Let's see if you can get this. All right, I'll just give you a chance.

Name that tune. Some of you, I'm just going to go ahead and give you a hint. There was an old one of these, and now they're doing a remake of it, and I've gotten so we're starting to watch it. All right, so you can get it. Anybody get it? Anybody get it? Anybody get it? It's Magnum, the old Magnum, Tom Selleck, and now they've got a new Magnum.

At first I wasn't sure I liked the new Magnum very much. I don't know if I could do it or not, but it's like there's nothing on TV. Have you noticed that? There's nothing on TV. It's just like so we're watching this. All right, let's see. Maybe one more just for fun. All right, this is like you need to be able to get this within two notes. All right, but I'm going to give it to you. Guess the theme. You know you got it. You got it.

You got it. I feel like exercising right now. Don't you? Don't you? I feel like I feel stronger right now. You know of course it is.

Rocky Balboa. And so in other words, isn't it something how there's a sound that connects a sequel? My spiritual father Dudley Hall likes to speak of the sound of the gospel. There's a sound. There's a sound when it's really the gospel.

There is an echo that comes into the heart and it's a beautiful sound. I remember many years ago, a man who had grown up in a very legalistic tradition came to our church and he said the first time he came, he said, I was just expecting more of the same of what I always had heard about law and dead religion. He said, and you started preaching and I love the image you use. He likes to hunt. And he said, when I see my hunting dogs and suddenly they hear something and maybe nobody, a human can't hear but they hear it and their ears perk up and they look.

He said, I was like one of those dogs. As soon as you start talking, my ears perked up and I was just listening. What he's saying was, I was hearing a sound. And I think what you'll realize as you study the book of Acts is it's the same sound in the gospel of Luke. It's the sound of the good news. It's the sound of what God has done for us in Jesus.

It's glorious. Let me just mention this final thing that makes sequels so fascinating. And this is maybe the most mind bending part of the sequel of the book of Acts to Luke.

And that is that new characters come in to join the main character for new adventures because the story isn't over. And though the main character remains Jesus, there are new characters and believe it or not, that's you and me. Wait, he said in Jerusalem, Acts 1, 4 and 5, wait there for the promise of the Father. He said, because you're going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. What was he saying? I want you to wait because you are going to be in the story and you need my spirit within you.

And so at verse 6, when they'd come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? And he was essentially saying, that's not your business. That's not the right story. Here's the real story.

It's not for you to know the times of the season fixed by my own authority. He said, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come and you will be my witnesses. He said, you're going to be the characters in this. And here's what's really exciting is we learn in these opening chapters of Acts is that anybody can be in this story.

This story is for anybody. In fact, when Peter preached the first Christian sermon in Acts chapter 2, he referenced the story of Joel and the prophecy of Joel. Acts chapter 2 verse 17, in the last days it shall be, God declares, I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see vision and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my male servants and female servants in those days, I'll pour up my spirit and they shall prophesy.

This is for everybody, it's for Jew, it's for Gentile, for old, for young, for male, for female. And what happened was that you see, because the sequel has started, that the sequel includes all these new characters and so that's what you begin to see is the Word of God is just spreading like wildfire. Acts 2 verse 41, it's a glorious thing, they were baptized and they're added that day, Pentecost day, 3,000. And then what you see in Acts 2, 46, is you start seeing that day by day they're attending the temple, they're breaking bread in their homes, they're fellowshiping, they're praising God, they're praying for one another and the Lord is adding to their number day by day those who are being saved. I think what I just love about the Holy Spirit is that He loves every person and is not a respecter of persons and it doesn't matter what your past is, it doesn't matter the problems that you've had, it doesn't matter how much sin you've had in your life, it doesn't matter your stature in society and none of that matters because the Holy Spirit has come so that anybody who will trust in the finished work of Christ would be filled with the very presence of God.

Anybody, I almost wanted to call this sermon Anybody, Anywhere. And you know what, during this very difficult time of pandemic, I thought we were going to have maybe two Sundays we'd shelter in place and we'd all be back and it'd be grand and now we realize it's going to be some sort of phasing back in eventually. But I think some wonderful things are happening and here's one of it.

People are watching our online services and other church services and hearing the gospel all around the nation, all around the world who might not normally hear it. Well, they opened up the barbershops, I went and got my hair cut, it was so awesome. I got a great clip that's right there near my house, I just said I'm going to go get there. The wait was two hours, I went and checked in on the app, went over there 15 minutes ahead of time, stood outside the doors waiting, bumped into some of our parishioners out there, we're all in our masks, you got to wait outside until they come and call you in. They said, Alan, we're ready for you.

I was like, whoa, I feel like I've won the lottery. I'm getting a haircut here. I go in and give a haircut. And it was a young lady I hadn't met before and so we're talking to one another, you know, our mask on and she's cutting hair and I told her I was a pastor, she wanted to know how we're doing. I said, yeah, we're doing church online. And she said, you know what, she said, she said, I don't get to church that often, she said, but I've been watching my church online. And she said, I've got a stepdaughter that doesn't go to church and she's been she's been watching with me. You know, when I heard that I just joy just came up joy in the middle of such a hard time. I think the gospel spreading. I think maybe the best thing that can happen is you to think about maybe there's somebody that can go to church that you might just invite them to come over and watch church with you.

As we're thinking about how to phase back into any kind of normal, the gospel is spreading because the gospel goes through the people of God. Well, I was talking to my daughter, Abby, and I love books, I love good books, I love writing, and I've never written any fiction. Maybe someday, maybe someday. But I told her, I said, you know, a dream of mine would be I think maybe one of the greatest things I felt like I could ever do wouldn't be so wonderful. I could write a sequel, write something, maybe a series, like the greatest thing would be like to write a series of novels that continue.

I was thinking about C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. We were just talking about how some of those things have helped shape the world and I was thinking, oh, that's just wonderful. And then later I got away from it and I thought, you know what, Lord, thank you. That is what I get to do every week. I get to continue sequel after sequel of the Acts of Jesus Christ. And this is His principal act. Jesus came and lived a perfect, sinless life, died on the cross in your place so that when you trust Him you become a vital part of the story because you're not just saved, meaning you go to heaven one day, but you become part of a kingdom. And He sends His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit to come and live inside of you. And you get to help in partnership with Jesus change the world. We call it the Acts of the Apostles, but it should be called the Acts of Jesus, part two. That's the gospel. Allen Wright, today's good news message. Jesus' ministry, the sequel. It's from our series Unlimited and thanks for taking the journey with us. We've got Pastor Alan back in the studio here in just a moment with our parting good news thought for the day.

Stick with us. If ever we've been ready for a new year, this is the year. As you start planning and dreaming for a great new year, we want to help. Allen Wright Ministries has produced a beautiful inspiring wall calendar with you in mind. Each month not only depicts the month in a heart-stirring image, but also includes a specially crafted blessing for the month from Pastor Alan. As Pastor Alan explains in his new book, The Power to Bless, which releases February 2nd and is available from Amazon for pre-order now, blessing is a biblically based faith vision over your life.

God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply. Blessing isn't the reward for your productivity, it's the fuel for it. The 2021 blessing wall calendar gives you space to write down all your important appointments and make plans for a wonderful new year. And most importantly, each time you see the beautiful image for the month, your heart will be strengthened by the empowering blessing statement from Pastor Alan. This year, don't just organize your life, bless your life with the 2021 blessing calendar. It is our gift to you when you make a donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries. Contact us today and start your year out right by the power of blessing. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back here now in the studio with Pastor Alan, our parting good news thought for the day. And I love that, the way you closed it out, Pastor Alan. It should be called The Acts of Jesus Part Two.

It really is a sequel. If you think of how encouraging this is, Daniel, I'd like to say to our listeners, what this means is that Jesus' ministry continues. You don't read about Jesus' ministry in the Bible and then go, okay, well that was neat to read about His ministry then. What you see is that the ministry of Jesus on display in the early church is the same ministry, it's just He's not here physically, He's here by His Spirit. Which means that everything that Jesus is and all that He does is still happening. And that means that whatever it is that you need in your own life, you can trust that Jesus is still at work through the body of Christ. And that means through you. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.