Today I want us to see that the Law and the Prophets and the Gospels, if you include Acts as part of the Gospels, testify to the truth that Jesus has an intention. He has a plan to flood the world with witnesses. We're going to see today in the three steps of the sermon how This plan is coming to pass through God's law, which tells us what a witness is, through the prophets, which tell us what we are to testify about, and then finally, in Acts, we hear the call and the command to testify. So if you would, turn with me to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, this is our reading from the prophet today. This is on page 603. Isaiah 43 on page 603 and we're going to read just verses 8 through 13. If you're familiar with this section of Isaiah, the first 39 chapters really are Isaiah in the name of the Lord pronouncing judgment upon Israel. Very interesting and engaging material. But then beginning in chapter 40 really is the turn then to a message of comfort. And this is a much loved portion of Isaiah among God's people, even Jewish people, even today. And there's much of this that is just so rich with the concept of redemption. And so what I want you to see is in verse 11 and 12, first we say that the Lord, Yahweh, is the only Savior, and that He has saved when there was no strange God among you. And then twice in this passage is the phrase, you are my witnesses. So what I want you to see today is Acts 1.8 is not just coming out of nowhere. That the Lord, in fact, has called us even in the prophets to be His witnesses. So let's read Isaiah 43. We'll read verses eight through 13. Hear the word of the Lord. Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, it is true. You are my witnesses, declares the Lord. and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. I declare and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you. And you are my witnesses, declares the Lord. And I am God. Also, henceforth, that is into the future, I am He. And there is none who can deliver from my hand. I work. And who can turn it back? This is the word of the Lord. And then turn with me to Acts chapter one. And while you're turning there, I just want to remind you, a little method to my madness, I realize we're going real slow right now, but I want to remind you, going back to my little poster, I got a little bit bigger one today, that we are yet in chapter one, dealing with the introductory material of the book of Acts. And then the book is properly structured in Jerusalem, And then in Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth, they summarize this in terms of Paul's mission, in terms of the missionary journeys, and then in terms of how Paul was witnessing throughout the remainder of his life. And so Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And so we're going to get into, and I promise we're going to start moving a little bit faster in weeks to come, but right now I'm wanting us to take the time to recognize the themes that Luke is laying out in this early part of his gospel. And so we've talked about the acts of the apostles, the emphasis on the record of the good works that God's people were doing in these early days of the Christian church. We've talked about the kingdom of God. We've talked about the promise of the Father. That is the Holy Spirit that he had promised would come upon them. And now today, we want to talk about this theme of being Christ's witnesses. What does that mean? So let's read Acts 1, we'll read verses 7 through 11. Here, once again, the word of the Lord. 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 end 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." This is the Word of the Lord. What does a witness do? The witness, on the witness stand, has a single job. To testify to what they, and they alone, know to be the truth. One promises to tell the truth, all the truth, and only the truth. That testimony will be reported, doubted, challenged, and in far too many cases, despised. But the witness, nor the court, can be moved by public opinion. I would encourage you to go back, we're gonna read a little bit more in Exodus 23 in just a moment. But I want you to notice how it's expected that the public will despise the testimony. The witness nor the court can be moved by public opinion. Jesus came to testify to the truth He called and sanctified His disciples in that truth. And now, He is sending them out. Something that we will see happen again and again and again in the book of Acts. To testify with eyewitness accounts. Specifically, I want you to notice, and we'll have a number of verses on this today, in the book of Acts, the emphasis is on testifying to the resurrection of the Christ. Paul goes so far as to say in 1 Corinthians 15, that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain. And we are of all men most to be pitied. Christianity without the bodily resurrection of Christ is a farce. But if Jesus rose from the dead, then the gospel is the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes what is testified. So what have you testified about? Have you ever been a witness on a witness stand? Ultimately, the Spirit makes us all able to testify. And I ask you today, are you ready, willing, and able to testify to God's great salvation? As I said, the way I've structured this sermon today is I want to first look at the first principles of being a witness. Secondly, I want to see this announcement by the one true God of Israel in Isaiah that you will be my witnesses. You are my witnesses. In this contest among the nations, you are my witnesses. And then finally, we want to hear how Jesus, after his resurrection, says you shall be my witnesses. throughout all of these different regions of the world. So there's the Law, there's the Prophets, and there's the Gospels here. I want you to see that in many ways each of these are building on each other. So I've tried to state the central point in terms of the role of Jesus' witnesses, that is, us in the present day. What lessons can we learn about bearing witness to Christ from these three passages? So let's look first at the truth that Jesus' witnesses must testify to the truth. Jesus' witnesses must testify to the truth. And if you would, turn with me back to Exodus chapter 23. We read this just a few moments ago, but I really believe that this passage is a primer on the basics of being a true testifier to speaking about the truth. Now there's some other things that are mixed in here. If you'll notice verses four and five don't really deal with testifying per se. And you'll see down in verse nine, we didn't read that, but it's part of this same section, is a much discussed verse today connected to immigration. That's not our point today. But I want you to see that the remainder of this passage is dealing with dangers about testifying. The Old Testament is full of the call to bear witness or to testify. So I want to just point out a few of these. First of all, don't spread a false report. Verse 1, the first half. Are you confident that what you're saying is true? To spread a false report is to be caught up in a lie. Look at the second half of verse 1. It says, you shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You know how this works. The people in town, there's a building for sale. Someone wants to buy it and improve it. And there's conflict, and so somebody with lots of money comes and says, hey, would you testify to this? And I'll give you a lot of money. And now suddenly, that witness maybe works with the guy, maybe is related to the guy, whatever, but becomes a malicious witness. Malice. I am out to destroy you. I'm going to not kill your body, but I'm going to kill your good name in court. Oh friends, do not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. Thirdly here, in verse 2, The witness must not be perverted. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit siding with the many so as to pervert justice." I want you to see here that there is the danger of public opinion. That is, as the case comes to court, often as the defense attorney goes out in front of the cameras and starts to talk about the case, suddenly the public has an opinion. Don't fall in with the many to do evil because you know the truth. Can you imagine being a witness, possibly in witness protection, preparing to testify against some of the most powerful mobsters who ever set up their racket in the United States. My dad grew up in Chicago and he grew up with stories and often told us stories of Al Capone. And Al Capone wound up going to jail. He died in jail because there were brave and protected witnesses who were able to testify, not to all the crimes that he did in the mob in Chicago, but to tax evasion. And he got caught and he wound up in Alcatraz because of tax evasion. Friends, be brave to tell the truth, even if it's not popular. Another point here, this is an interesting one, in verse 3 look at what it says. Nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. Don't decide, don't even testify to the poor because they're poor. That would be a perversion of justice. The poor aren't always right, but then compare this with verse 6. It says, you shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. On one hand, don't just go along with the poor because they're poor, but on the other hand, it is a perversion of justice if there is a two-tiered system. Friends, is this not extremely relevant in our federal life right now? We've been hearing about those who will lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice. Are we hearing truth in the testifying going on? committees of the United States Senate? I don't know. But I would encourage you to recognize the central role of testifying in the corporate life of any church, of any community, and indeed, of any nation. Finally, in verses seven and eight, Look at what it says. It says, keep far, stay away from a false charge. If somebody's bringing a false charge, I will witness to that over my dead body, in which case I won't bear witness. Stay away. If you're a witness and you're asked to testify about something that's false, have nothing to do with it. And do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And then finally, We've kind of already talked about this, but you shall take no bribe. For a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. Friends, if we're going to be witnesses, we need to be those who testify to the truth. So how do you know the truth? Well, we as Christian witnesses, and I want to just point out the obvious today, need to be careful to distinguish between testimony and hearsay. I've decided that you cannot be witnesses to the resurrection. You know why? Because you weren't there. Have you thought about that before? You can testify to other things firsthand, but you cannot testify to the resurrection. That's why Luke says in Luke 1 verses 1 through 4, this is, as a journalist especially, this passage has just been so helpful and clarifying to me. He says, Those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered this message to us. It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke was not an eyewitness. But he heard the eyewitnesses. We're going to come back to that in just a few moments. But I want us to think about, we have been entrusted with an eyewitness testimony in the form of the Scriptures. We are not first-hand eyewitnesses to the resurrection. But Peter was. And John was. And James was. And Paul was. Do you see why, as a witness, you need to bear witness to things that you have first-hand knowledge of, and you need to bear witness to what the eyewitnesses say? It's a very interesting distinction here. We cannot be eyewitnesses of the events of creation, or of the public ministry of Christ. However, we can be witnesses to the effect of Scripture upon us and to the transformative power of the Spirit of Christ within us. I ask you today, have you learned how and when to bear testimony to the working of God within your life? So this is sort of the difference between the truth as an ointment to the soul, and truth as sandpaper on your skin. There is a way to be a witness that might technically be to the truth, but the way it's being testified about makes everybody roll their eyes. There are people who are gifted as witnesses to know when and how to begin natural conversations, first the natural, then the spiritual. I want to call you to be this kind of witness, who is a winsome witness, who answers the questions. Again, I don't know if you've been watching the testimony before the Senate over the last two weeks, but isn't it ironic to hear questions that aren't really have anything to do with what's going on here. They're gotcha questions and some and some witnesses will bat those aside and there's other times where very relevant questions are asked and the witnesses don't answer the question. But oh friends what a thing it is when people are asking the right questions and are searching for the truth. And we have the opportunity to sit down and to share what God has made known to us. It's as though they're starving. And we are able to share with them some of the bread that Jesus gave to us. Jesus' witnesses must testify to the truth, for truth resonates to the core of our being. And we say yes and amen. All right, so that's Exodus 23. There's more study certainly you can do there, but now I'd ask you to turn with me to Isaiah chapter 43. We read this just a few minutes ago. Isaiah chapter 43. verses 8 through 13. And the point that I want to make here is that Jesus is actually exactly in line with the Father. I can't prove that it's the Father who's speaking here, but what I know is that while the Old Testament, there is a very eloquent case or inference that can be made from dozens and hundreds of verses in the Old Testament, there is not the systematic doctrine of the Trinity. And so in the Old Testament, we're not being taught to think of God as Father, Son, and Spirit so much as we're being taught to think of God as one, and all the other gods are false. There's only one true God, And He is the true God. He's the Creator God. He's the God who brought Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea and into the land of promise. And all the gods of the nations are mere idols, but our God made the heavens. That's going to take some testifying. That's a big concept. And we need to know that one of the things that's coming hard at us in our culture today is, well, why would you believe in one God that you can't see or prove, but not believe in all the gods? I just believe in one less God than you do. I'm an atheist. Oh, well, friends, you need to think that one through. Why do you believe that there is a God But there's only one God. What about all the other gods? Why do you capitalize the G when you're talking about the true God, and then make it a lowercase g when you're talking about God wannabes? Have you thought that through? Because it's the Lord, Yahweh, who claims to be the Savior. So a couple things about this passage. Notice, you are my witnesses. This phrase, God says it both times. In verse 10, right at the beginning, you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. And then again in verse 12, and you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and I am God. So the role of witnesses becomes tremendously important. Notice to whom we're to be witnessing. Verses eight and nine. Bring out the people who are blind. They have eyes, but right now they can't see because the God of this world has blinded their eyes. Who are deaf, yet have ears. Remember when Jesus says over and over, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. And I always think the people must be like, yeah, nobody here only has one ear or zero ears. Everybody here has ears. We're all listening. Yeah, but listen to the truth. So the point here, point number two, is that Jesus' witnesses testify to the only Savior. There is only one Savior. Verse 11, I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you. Clear out the idols. Stop loving the world. Let go of the things that control your minds. Be free. have some common sense for a change. There's only one God because God made everything else. Everything else didn't make itself and definitely everything else didn't make God. What a silly idea. There is one true Creator God and He is the Savior. There are no other saviors. All the other saviors have to do with some kind of temporal salvation. and they'll always ultimately let you down. The police can save you from criminals, but they can't save you from death. The judges can save you from the shysters out to get you, but judges can't keep you alive. God is the only Savior, and besides Him, there is no Savior. We need witnesses because people doubt the truth. When Jesus met the woman at the well in John 4, she testified about Jesus. She went back and said to her fellow Samaritans in Shechem that, come and see a man who's told me everything I've ever done. Could this be the Messiah? Well, just a few days later, her fellow Samaritans said something remarkable to her. Quote, this is John 4.42, they said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. The Samaritans had come to know Jesus, and what do they call him? The Savior. Is Jesus God? Is He the Lord? Is the Son of God also God? He is man, of course, but He's God. There's no division here. We must testify to the only Savior, even our Lord Jesus Christ. And this brings us to the third and final point this morning. And here I'd ask you to turn back to the book of Acts. There's just a few texts I want to, again, in the spirit of we're introducing this idea today, but one of the most important things you can do as you begin to tie the Book of Acts together in your mind is these kinds of word studies. Luke is giving us the crumbs that he's going to then build, and it's going to be nourishing bread for us throughout the rest of the book. So do the word study on the word witnesses. The word witness or witnesses is used 11 times in the book of Acts. I want to give you just four of these as we conclude today. So third point is that Jesus' witnesses testify to his resurrection. to his resurrection. Now I want to include in this, I decided to just use one word, but his resurrection and his glorification. Jesus rose from the dead, we're going to see that in just a minute, but especially here in Acts 1, notice the close connection between being the witnesses and as soon as he said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up. And now He ascends into heaven. We studied last week in Daniel chapter 7 about what the prophets beheld as the Son of Man came on a cloud into the presence of the Ancient of Days. So we should be His witnesses to the resurrection, if you want, slash glorification or ascension of Jesus. But I wanted to just point out four other places here I've stated these in terms of application. Acts 2.32. Write these down. Acts 2.32. Review Peter's testimony to the resurrection. In Acts 2.32, Peter says, Christ was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. They're eyewitnesses, friends. They were there. They've told us, Luke's told us in volume one of his writing about how these apostles were there. Today, people seek to base their beliefs merely on reason and experience. But the teaching of scripture brings a third basis, indeed an ultimate basis, that of revelation. I ask you, are you basing your life on revelation, reason, and experience? Number two, Acts 3.15. Remember the significance of the resurrection. In his second sermon, this one was in the temple on the Temple Mount, in Acts 3.15, Peter says, quote, you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this, we are witnesses. That is, that these men had been chosen by Christ, and they were there, in the garden, inside the tomb. They saw, and they affirmed and confirmed the resurrection of the Christ. Friends, if that is true, then you must live in light of that fact. If Jesus came out of the grave. And if he was restored to life, touch me and see that it's me. I'm not a ghost. I have flesh and bones just like you. Here, give me something to eat. And then while they watched, he ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father, given a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. Friends, do you see that we are witnesses? We need to reflect upon And remember the significance of the resurrection. All right, number three, Acts 5 verses 31 and 32. I'm going to call you to reflect on the apostolic testimony about the ascension. Here we see that it's not only about the resurrection. Acts 5 verse 31, God exalted Christ at His right hand as leader and Savior. Remember, apart from me there is no Savior. Who's the Savior? Who's the Lord? It's Jesus. To give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. The apostolic testimony is about the resurrection, but it's also about the ascension, and it's also about the Holy Spirit whom God has given. And let me just say here at this point, as we close, that I want us to ponder the that there is an eyewitness account that we can give. We can testify to the impact of the eyewitness testimony in Scripture upon our lives. We can also tell the story about how the Holy Spirit caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have first-hand experience of the Holy Spirit if we know how to talk about it. I was born in sin. I was a goody-goody two-shoes, but boy was I proud. I was teacher's pet because I knew how to suck up to people. I knew how to put on a show I knew how to dress up nice for church. But I didn't understand that Jesus was relentlessly after my heart. Until on March 22nd, 1981, the Holy Spirit finally broke through. It was through the testimony of my own father. He'd been sharing the gospel with me repeatedly over a period of weeks. But finally that morning, he opened the Bible to 1 John 5, 11 and 12. And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. This life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not, listen to this, friends, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. And then my dad asked me, Brad, do you have the Son? I said, I don't know, but I want Him. And he led me in praying a simple prayer, expressing faith in Jesus the Christ. And my life has never been the same since then. Do you have the Son? Then testify about it! And if you don't, repent of your sins. And go to wise people, but above all, go to the eyewitness accounts of Scripture. And again, remember, The world is intent on undermining the reliability of the apostolic writings themselves. We have had these since the foundation of the church. But there's clever YouTube videos. There's clever apologists for all kinds of different gurus who they have dedicated themselves to proving the Bible is not the Bible. That it's something else. And we can stand against that. One last one here. Wrestle with Christ post-resurrection appearances. Acts 10 verses 39 to 41, Peter speaks to Cornelius and the Gentiles. He says, quote, we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews, that is in Galilee, and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him up on the third day and made him appear not to all people, but to us who have been chosen by God. as witnesses. All the people that Jesus showed up to were His witnesses. He did not reveal Himself. He was not putting on a show for the world. Oh look, here I am flying in the sky like Captain America. I don't know if Captain America flies, but the new one does. Anyway, Think about this whole thing. Jesus is not showing his resurrection to prove. He's showing his resurrection to confirm in those whom he has called as his witnesses. Peter says, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Oh friends, do you see the call to testify Do you see the call to be a witness to truth? What is truth? Everyone on the side of truth, Jesus says, listens to my voice. Will you be a faithful? Will you be a competent witness to the truth of Christ? Let's pray. Oh Lord, our God, how we thank you for all your provisions. How we thank you for the good news that is heralded by these apostles. Lord, thank you that you didn't leave us alone, but you sent the Spirit to dwell in the hearts of your people. Lord, when we're made new, everything is different. We pray, Lord, that you would help us to press in and to cry out, oh, Lord, confirm my faith by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, help us as a church to live in the Spirit. And to walk by the Spirit. That Lord, you would get us out of the flesh, out of our own deceitful desires. To be living in a spirit of holiness. To be walking through the world, rather than simply melting into the world. And Lord, we pray that you would give us, Lord, I pray that you would give us in this room today, those who are listening online, Lord, give us divine appointments where it's just so obvious that you're doing something in that moment that we have to speak up. Lord, I pray that you would bring people whose hearts are haunted across those who have the light of truth. And Lord, that we might see witnessing lead to repentance and to conversion and to new life. We'll give you thanks for it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, if you would, turn with me in closing to Psalm 96.