ACTS I & II | The Ascension | Acts 1:9-26 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

Summary

Podcast: 2819 Church
Episode: ACTS I & II | The Ascension | Acts 1:9-26 | Philip Anthony Mitchell
Date: April 27, 2026
Speaker: Philip Anthony Mitchell & Co-Pastor

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Episode Overview

This episode marks week two of 2819 Church’s teaching journey through Acts 1 & 2, focusing on the Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:9-26). Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell and the Co-Pastor explore the roots and vision of the early church, emphasizing the foundation of prayer, unity, obedience, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Listeners are challenged to embody the call of being end-time disciples—witnesses and kingdom-minded believers deeply committed to the mission and example found in the book of Acts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vision: A Church for the End Times (00:00–06:18)

• The episode opens with a charge to see 2819’s worship and intercession as embodying the "cry of the hour" for the whole Body of Christ.
• The church’s pillars—Prayer, Presence, Proclamation—are not just local but global mandates.
• “We ain't singing about materialism and blessing. We singing about the coming of our resurrected Savior. This is the cry of the hour.” (Pastor, 00:00)
• There is a palpable sense of spiritual shift within the 2819 community, attributed to dedicated prayer and intentional discipleship.
• Sense of inclusivity: “You could belong before you believe and be amongst us before you believe.” (Co-Pastor, 06:19)
• Purpose of the Series: To ground listeners in the origins of the Church as a model for a Spirit-led, world-reaching community.

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2. Acts as the Record of Beginnings (06:18–12:27)

• Book of Acts described as Gospel history, the chronicle of how a small group in Jerusalem sparked a global movement.
• Mitchell draws a parallel between the church's own humble beginnings and those of the early church.
• The opening verses of Acts introduce key themes—Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances and command to wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

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3. The Ascension: Meaning and Application (12:27–24:12)

• Jesus’ ascension is both a historical event and a powerful symbol:
  • Site of Ascension: Atop the Mount of Olives, a place of both former shame (Gethsemane) and present glory.
  • Message: God turns seasons and places of shame into future glory.
  • Memorable Quote: “He knows how to take former shame and turn it into future glory.” (Pastor, 15:12)
• Personal testimony interwoven: Mitchell recounts his own journey from shame (arrested for lying on a job application) to God’s vindication, paralleling Christ’s story.
• Ascension and the cloud: Clouds symbolize God’s presence throughout scripture—Exodus, Sinai, the Tabernacle.
• Angelic assurance: Two angels confirm Christ will return the same way He left.

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4. Four Powerful Aspects of the Ascension (24:12–34:54)

• Exaltation: Christ is lifted above all, seated at the right hand, with all authority.
• Delegation: Jesus delegates the ministry and spread of the gospel to the Church, while the Holy Spirit is delegated to lead.
  • “Good leaders, delegate. They don't do everything themselves.” (Co-Pastor, 28:37)
• New Iteration: Jesus’ ministry shifts—He now intercedes as High Priest and Advocate (Hebrews, 1 John).
• Prophetic Declaration: The promise that Jesus will return just as He ascended, riding a cloud (see Revelation 19).

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5. The Embryonic Church: Lessons from the Upper Room (34:54–41:18)

• The first followers’ immediate response is obedience (return to Jerusalem as commanded) and togetherness (“one accord”).
• Rich detail in the makeup of the early group—diversity, history of failure, doubts, and baggage (Peter the denier, Thomas the doubter, Jesus’ skeptical brothers).
  • Unity: Despite reasons for division, they focus on the mission.
  • “The gravity of the calling was greater than their differences.” (Co-Pastor, 37:29)
• Emphasis: The early church devotes themselves first to prayer—“A prayerless church is a powerless church.”

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6. Standing Up: Leadership and the Call to Respond (41:18–52:38)

• With Jesus physically gone, Peter steps up and embraces leadership, illustrating the moment “when preparation meets opportunity.”
  • Challenge to Men: A strong call for men to stand up as leaders in church, family, and society.
  • Memorable Quip: “A praying man is a sexy man. A man who takes accountability is a sexy man.” (Co-Pastor & Pastor, 46:08–47:26)
• Being present: Illustration of 120 gathered in the upper room, contrasted with the 380 missing—“Fans of Christ hear stories. Followers write stories.” (Co-Pastor, 52:38)

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7. Gospel Fidelity: The First Pastoral Task (52:38–58:00)

• Peter’s first pastoral act is to ground the community in scripture—interpreting Judas's betrayal and choosing a replacement as fulfillment of prophecy.
• Replacement of Judas underscores importance of faithfulness over notoriety—Matthias and Justus, though never previously named, are eligible because they have been “faithful from the beginning.”
  • “You don't have to be famous...Your faithfulness will speak for you. Favor follows faithful people.” (Co-Pastor, 56:47)

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8. Obedience, Unity, and Prayer: Blueprint for Today (58:00–64:52)

• The first church models:
  • Obedience to the words of Jesus and to scripture.
  • Unity above personal differences.
  • Relentless devotion to prayer.
  • Decision-making through seeking God’s guidance.
• Urges modern church to mirror these priorities for true effectiveness and power.
• If these marks are present, the church will thrive globally as the "powerful bride" of Christ.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Spirit’s Lead: “You can talk to [the Holy Spirit] and he will respond back to you. In your heart, he is your helper.” (Co-Pastor, 41:14)
• On Unity: “We are more powerful when we are united...We should pray more than we judge.” (Co-Pastor, 38:36)
• On Leadership: “We need more men to stand up as leaders in their home and stop being passive and stop being cowards...Men gotta stand up, man.” (Pastor, 44:27)
• On Faithfulness: “Faithful will put you in places you had no business doing. Favor will put you on the hearts and minds of people you don't even know are thinking about you.” (Co-Pastor, 56:47)
• Call to Obedience: “Reading the Scriptures. Obey the Scriptures. Hear sermons, obey sermons. This is how your life has changed.” (Co-Pastor, 56:47)
• On the Early Church Model: “A prayerless church is a powerless church. A prayerless believer is a powerless believer.” (Co-Pastor, 40:54)
• Closing Prayer: “That a spirit of obedience would fall on her. A spirit of prayer would fall on her. A spirit of unity would fall on her. A spirit of seeking you for guidance and direction would fall on her.” (Pastor, 64:10)

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Key Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Theme | |-----------|-----------------| | 00:00–04:45 | Worship, introducing the church’s foundational vision | | 06:18–12:27 | Acts as record of origins, continuity with present-day movement | | 12:27–18:44 | The Ascension—historical detail, personal testimony, clouds as presence | | 20:39–24:12 | Angels as messengers, personal story of angelic encounter | | 24:12–34:54 | Four dynamics of the Ascension | | 34:54–41:18 | Description of the first church’s obedience, unity, and prayer | | 41:18–52:38 | Call to stand up, especially to male leadership | | 52:38–58:00 | Matthias’ selection—faithfulness as the key credential | | 58:00–64:52 | Modern application: blueprint for a powerful church, closing prayer |

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Tone and Style

The tone is passionate, challenging, and earnest—calling the church to authenticity, courage, and Spirit-led living. Storytelling (both biblical and personal), extemporaneous encouragement, and strong appeals for unity and faithfulness are hallmarks of this episode. The language is direct, sometimes colloquial, and full of imagery and real-life application.

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Summary for Listeners:
If you missed this episode, expect a powerful call to model your life and church on the foundation laid in the book of Acts—prayer, unity, obedience, Spirit-led decisions, and faithfulness without the need for fame. The early church’s messy, diverse, but Spirit-powered DNA is held up as the template for today, with vivid encouragement to “stand up,” persevere, and to trade comparison and division for prayerful, united mission.

Transcript

[Pastor]

This song that we wrote, it's bigger than 2819. This is the cry of the hour. This is the war cry for the body of Christ. It should be sung in all of America and around the world. We ain't singing about materialism and blessing. We singing about the coming of our resurrected Savior. This is the cry of the hour.

[Co-Pastor]

Those words on the wall, we ain't

[Pastor]

just paint that there for no reason.

[Co-Pastor]

Prayer presence proclamation pillars of this house.

[Pastor]

And we want all of them to go out to the whole world.

[Co-Pastor]

And from this house, the gospel has

[Pastor]

gone out to the whole world. And through access, the gospel will go

[Co-Pastor]

out to the whole world.

[Pastor]

And now through song presence, the songs will go out to the whole world.

[Co-Pastor]

I feel the spirit of God. I feel a shift in 2819. I feel a shift because of Rhonda Jackson and our prayer team and our prayer intensives.

[Pastor]

Come on, man. Come on. Come on, man. We did a whole prayer intensive yesterday for all of our inner core that's coming to the whole church. Prayer is the foundation of 2819.

[Co-Pastor]

Prayer presence Proclamation.

[Pastor]

Prayer presence Proclamation. Prayer presence Proclamation. Prayer presence Proclamation to the whole world. Now give Jesus praise in this place. Come on, praise him in this place. Come on, man. We singing about one God who wears all crowns. There is no other God but God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ. This ain't a symbol for some false religion. This is a symbol of lowercase cheese, lowercase gods. There's only one God and his son is the Lord Jesus Christ. Only one who wears a crown. And every eye will see and every knee will bow.

[Co-Pastor]

For when Jesus comes, there will be no more debates in theology. All our theology will be unified for the whole world will know that he is the Son of God. All these debates in theology temporary until I sky crack. Perfect agreement on that day. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. We family of 2019. We will be those with oils in our lamp.

[Pastor]

Come on, Come on, man. We gonna have oil in our lamp. We gonna be ready when that's not tracked. We gonna be ready for the Lord Jesus. Is anybody gonna.

[Co-Pastor]

We're gonna be ready. We gonna be ready. I said we're gonna be ready.

[Pastor]

We ain't playing games. We raising up end time disciples. I said we're gonna be ready in the name. I Wish I had 2000 ready people in this room.

[Co-Pastor]

If you a guest, we welcome you to 2819 where we are serious about the spread of the Gospel and the multiplying of disciples and being witnesses for Christ in these last days of the church age to all of our global family, the Digital Disciples across America and around the world, we're taking territory for Christ. Wherever we are, we are the End Time disciples of Christ. In every city in America, on every continent on the planet, the growing army of 2819 end time disciples serious about the Lord's business. And if you crept up in this room or you crept into this chat and you're not a follower of Jesus, we know that you're in here and we're glad that you're here. We want you to know you could belong before you believe and be amongst

[Pastor]

us before you believe.

[Co-Pastor]

And our prayer is that the Spirit of God will bring you into this family. That you will know the joy that we feel before time has run out on you. We didn't come to play games. We came to open God's word. Today's week two of our brand new series, Acts 1 and 2. This is a teaching journey through the first two chapters of the Book of Acts. The book of Acts is the book of origins. It preserved for us the record of the birth of the Christian church and the first 30 years of its glorious history. Written in AD 60 by a man named Luke, who was a doctor and a historian. He recorded for us the formation of the Church, its first communities, the salvation of the Apostle Paul. He recorded for us the movements of the first church. The book could be called the Acts of the Apostles. It could also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. For the book reveals the ministry of the Holy Spirit in full display our text today. Acts chapter one, verse nine through 26. Spirit of the living God, have your way in this gathering and help your servant. Ask in the mighty and the majestic, in the matchless name of our soon coming king, the Lord Jesus Christ and all God's people said Amen and Amen. Family, if the Lord tarries, and I don't believe that he wills, but if the Lord tarries, then a hundred years from now, everybody under the family of 2819 Church who is alive right now, we will no longer be here. For within 100 years from now, all of us, local and global will, would have been divorced from this life by death and we would have gone into eternity into the presence of our Savior, the one who ransomed us in this life. And if the Lord tarries a hundred years from now, when we who are alive right now are gone and have handed off the baton to the next generation of 2819 disciples, if they came behind us and was wondering how did this global revival start, called 2819 the spread of the gospel from Atlanta, Georgia. How did this all start, man? They would find themselves, man, digging through content from our social media pages and digging through videos and digging through pictures and going through stories and going through articles and posts, trying to get all the way back to the origin of how this thing started. They would be digging through Facebook posts and IG posts and trying to get to the beginning. How did this all start? And as they dig through all that content, they will land in January of 23 when 183 disciples gathered in the empty auditorium of Westside Atlanta Charter School. And they would see those early images of us being in that empty high school with us preaching those first messages and singing those first songs. Just a few people on the stage, they would see the very first merch we ever made with the box around the logo and they would sit there and stare at the say, oh they this is how it all begins. When all of us are dead and gone and God terrors. They'll be looking at us in pictures and on videos and be like, oh look at them when they was shouting over that song that we wrote, the very first song that went global. And they would be looking over and marveling over what Jesus has done. Gospel history being reviewed in real time Essentially, this is what happens when we approach this text in Acts. This is the experience of every person who opens the Book of Acts. As we open the Book of Acts. We now haven't passed that baton down. Hundreds of years are coming back now and seeing Luke's first posts, his images, his content of how this whole thing began, this whole global movement called the Christian Church, with billions of people who worship Jesus as God around the world. How did this whole thing start? It started right here in the Book of Acts, right here in this text. Today we see Luke telling us how this whole thing began. I want to read for you again Luke's very first intro to the book when he starts in Acts chapter one and he says in the first book, oh Theophilus, I have dealt with all that. Jesus began to do teach until the day 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 to you, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not many days from now. And I taught you last week in this text, this was going to happen 10 days after he had this conversation. The Lord could change your life in a week. So when they had come together, they asked him, lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it's not for you to know times and seasons that the Father has fixed in his own authority, but you will receive power. That's what you have. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, that's what you have. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria unto the ends of the earth. And you will be my witnesses in

[Pastor]

Atlanta

[Co-Pastor]

and in the state of Georgia, then in America and to the very ends of the earth. And then where we go next in today's text is Luke's first post, his first content about how this whole thing started. Verse 9. And when he, that is Christ, had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud of took him out of their sight. So there is Jesus now with his followers. He has given him his final commands twofold. Go and make disciples of all nations. That is for you and I. And you will be my witnesses in the whole world. That is for you and I to be witnesses of his life, his teaching, his death, his resurrection. And we are witnesses in the way that we live, the way that we talk, the way that we move. There is Jesus now, having given his final commands taken up into heaven. And there are his followers now without their leader. I can imagine in the moment all the emotions they're experiencing at this time. Feelings of joy for seeing Christ go, but also feelings of confusion. What do we do next? Feelings of uncertainty. For if you and I was in this moment and have walked with somebody for three and a half years and seen them leave, we would now be saying, what do we do after he's gone? As we grapple with the realities of the unknown future that is ahead of them. The scripture tells us that he was taken up from this place. And I just want to draw your attention that you would consider the fact where this particular incident took place. It took place on the Mount of Olives, a gentle slope just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. I've stood on the top of the Mount of Olives staring at the eastern gate. The Scripture tells us in the Old Testament that Jesus will return to earth on top of that very mountain. But at the base of that mountain is where his shame began. For you recall in our teaching was at the base of that Mountain. There's a garden there at the foot of that mountain called the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane where the shame of Jesus began. He was arrested in that garden. He was betrayed in that garden. He was led out of that garden like a criminal in the same place where the Lord was shamed at the foot of the mountain. I just think it's so powerful that now he ascends to Christ on the top of that mountain. Because God knows how to take seasons

[Pastor]

of shame and things of shame and

[Co-Pastor]

turn them around for his glory. That there's things you and I have gone through that have caused us shame in the past, things we regret. But God is so sovereign and so powerful. He knows how to vindicate a story.

[Pastor]

He knows how to take former shame and turn it into future glory.

[Co-Pastor]

Jesus shamed at the bottom of the mountain. He's now glorified at the top of that same place. I know what it feels like to be in a place of shame and then walk through and feel the glory of God, man. November 2003, while I was suicidal, crawling to a bathroom on my hands and knees. Surrender my life to Jesus in that bathroom. Saved in that bathroom. The very next day, I go to work. I was in the first class, sworn into the TSA right after 9, 11. I go to work and I'm on the checkpoint. And an officer walks up to me on the checkpoint. They said, Mr. Mitchell, we need you in the back. They take me in the back and she throws handcuffs on the table. She says, put that on. I said, for what? You're being arrested today. Put on these handcuffs. I said, for what? She said, you obtained your government clearance under false pretenses. I said, how? She said, you lied on your application and said you had no felonies or misdemeanors on your record. Put these handcuffs on. I did lie. I wasn't saved when I did the application. But in the kingdom, we don't lie. In the kingdom, we are people of truth. Lying is the behavior of the devil. That's why Jesus called him the Father of all lies. But when we grow in Christian maturity, we learn to tell the truth, even if it gets us in trouble. For the scripture says all liars will burn in the lake that burns with fire. So as we grow in Christian maturity,

[Pastor]

we learn to have a mouth full

[Co-Pastor]

of truth, so we won't be following the Father of lies. You got to determine who's your father. Either the devil, who's a liar, or Jesus, who is Truth. And if Jesus is our Father, then we are people who speak truth. But I wasn't saved when I did the application, and I said to the officer, I said, listen, I could just walk out to the car. No need to embarrass me like that. She said, put the cuffs on. I said, miss, man, all my colleagues are gonna see me. There's no need to embarrass me like that. Put the cuffs on. So I put the cuffs on, and they walked me out of the checkpoint, out of Raleigh Durham airport, into the back of a car, and they carry me off to jail. And there I am the very next day. This is how my salvation began. The next day, I'm sitting in a prison cell, no job. There's bars in front of me, but there's no bars inside of me, right? I feel peace in my heart. And I'm thinking to myself, man, I was dragged off that checkpoint in shame. But now God in his mercy, allows me to travel the whole country and the whole world. And every time I pass through an

[Pastor]

airport, I am reminded this is a place of former shame for me. But now God has turned that story into a place of glory, man. Come on, man. Every time I walk through an airport

[Co-Pastor]

and I pass through tsa, I am

[Pastor]

reminded my story started right here in shame, but now I walk through as a minister of the Gospel, Because God knows how to take form of shame and turn it into glory. And notice how Jesus is taken. He's taken in a cloud, lifted up

[Co-Pastor]

through a cloud, meaning he's going straight to heaven.

[Pastor]

And clouds are not just beautiful things

[Co-Pastor]

we see in the sky. Clouds in the scriptures are synonymous with God's presence. It was in the Old Testament when a group of people was led out of Egyptian slavery. God led them out of slavery by a cloud. When they built their first tabernacle, he sat on top of that tabernacle in a cloud. When he called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai, he came down and talked to Moses in a cloud. In fact, the Book of Exodus, the very last verse, says, the cloud of the Lord. So when we see clouds in the scripture, they're often synonymous with God's presence. When I look up in the sky and I see clouds, I don't just think about things that bring rain. I think about God's presence. And so we understand that clouds represents God's presence. And because of that, Jesus was taken up by God's presence. Where is he headed to? Straight into heaven. Verse 10. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two Men stood by them in white robes and said, quote, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have saw him go into heaven. This is heat. The Lord leaves his followers on a cloud of God's presence headed to heaven. They are full of joy and confusion, but he does not leave them in those myriad of emotions. He sends back from heaven two messengers to give them hope about the future. He does the same thing for you and I, that oftentimes when we're dealing with tough emotions, the Lord will lean into those emotions to send you the help that you need in that moment.

[Pastor]

He does not abandon them in the

[Co-Pastor]

moment, but sends back two angels to speak to them and give them a message. Angels in the scriptures they teach us, are both ministers and messengers. They deliver words from God and they help God's people. In fact, the scripture teaches us that the angels help to minister to you and I, who are servants of the Lord. You can't even imagine how many times you've been helped by an angel. These angels don't show up with wings. Watch the text. They show up as men. And the scripture teaches us that sometimes angels appear to human beings in human form. That's why the scripture says you should never mistreat a stranger. It's in the Bible because you might be entertaining an angel unaware. It's like me, my first year of college, North Carolina Central University. Shout out to all the HBCUs. Eagle Pride, North Carolina Central University. First year there, unsaved, 18 years of age. I remember I had to use the restroom while I was standing on campus. And my stomach was doing something, so I didn't want to go into the bathroom that was busy. I didn't want to feel ashamed. So I went to the basement of the student union. And I went in the back corner, in a remote part of the basement of the student union, to a small bathroom where nobody used on campus. And I went in that bathroom and I went in the stall and I handled my business. And it's quiet in there. No birds chirping, no music. Dead silent. I walk out the stall and there's a man, a cop, standing at the sink. Now, in those days, I'm afraid of cops, so I'm nervous. So I just go and I'm washing my hands and I'm not saying anything to him. I don't even look at him in his face. He turns to me and he says, God is calling you. God has something for you. To do. There's a work for you to do for God. And he starts talking to me about my calling in God. Now I'm unsaved. I'm young, I'm ratchet. I'm in the streets. I don't want nothing to do with that. I'm afraid. I never respond to him. I just stay there with my heads down. And then he walks out the bathroom. Nine years, I never heard that man come into the bathroom. As I'm standing there at the sink, it dawns on me. I never saw his reflection in the mirror. He's standing right next to me at the sink, and I'm looking at him from the corner of my eye. I never saw his reflection in the mirror. I run out the student union and I went to my friend, say, yo, did y' all see that cop that just came out here? They said, no. What color was he wearing? I described his uniform. They said, they don't wear that color on this campus. The cops on this campus wear burgundy and maroon. I said, but he was wearing this color. They said, the cops on this campus don't wear that color. I said, no, but I saw a cop wearing this particular color. The cops on this campus don't wear this color. It will be years later, the Holy Spirit will reveal to me that I met an angel in that bathroom who had brought a word from heaven to me. God is calling you to do a work. Although it would take years for my life to catch up with that word, God was still trying to reach to me while I was in rebellion and sin.

[Pastor]

Just like he reached out to you when you was in rebellion and sin. Is anybody thankful? He was pursuing you when you was in rebellion and sin? And what we have here after the

[Co-Pastor]

crucifixion of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ is the assailant Ascension of Christ. And in the Ascension of Christ, we see four powerful things that happens in history in the Ascension of Christ. First, in the Ascension of Christ, Christ is exalted. There is exaltation of Christ. In the Ascension, he has lifted up where to heaven. And where is he now? Seated at the right hand of the Father Exalted. Far above all principalities, powers, rulers, above Satan, above every problem and issue. He is not limited by power. All things is under his feet. So in the Ascension of Christ, we see that Christ now is exalted to the highest place in all the world. He controls all of heaven and earth. In the Ascension of Christ, we see his delegation. Christ is no longer on the earth. And what he does now is delegate the ministry he started to you, and I to them, to the church. No longer is Jesus on the ground preaching the gospel, angel. Now he says, I delegate to you, all of you, my brothers and sisters, the responsibility to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. No longer is Jesus preaching and teaching on the earth. Now I delegate that responsibility to you. Then he delegates the administration of the church to the Holy Spirit. He sends the Holy Spirit back to the earth to lead the church. This was his promise in John 14, 15, 16, when he said, when he comes, he will remind you. He will lead you. He will do all these things. Because the Holy Spirit has pronouns, too.

[Pastor]

Not an it, not a she. The devil is a lie, not God. Our mother. When he comes, not when she comes.

[Co-Pastor]

I mean, I was in Target and some little dude tried to walk up with me, like, yo, bro, can I introduce you to my Bible study? I'm like, yeah, let's go. He said, come on. I want you to meet us at our Bible study. It's happening on this day, at this time. We're going to talk to you about God, our mother. I said, the devil is a lie. That ain't a Bible study by God. That's the Bible study born of a demon.

[Pastor]

There is no God.

[Co-Pastor]

Our mother. The Lord is not female. There is no whichever gender he wants to be. That is New Age philosophy.

[Pastor]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's New Age philosophy. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit a pronoun. When he comes, he will remind you of all things.

[Co-Pastor]

He will convert the world of sin. He will do this, that the third.

[Pastor]

He, he, he.

[Co-Pastor]

That's why Jesus revealed God as our Father. And that's why the first person the devil's trying to attack in a home are fathers. Remove the image of God in children's lives. And now we have all of these broken adults because we did not know our Father. Saying, we come into a relationship with our heavenly. We struggle to identify with him as a son and daughter. You think it's an accident there's more single mothers than fathers? No, that's divine. Not divine. That is Satan's plan. Let me remove from homes the image of God as a father. So in the Ascension, we see the. We see the exaltation of Christ. In the Ascension, we see the delegation of Christ. Good leaders, delegate. They don't try to do everything for themselves. Good parents, delegate. They don't do everything for their children. Man, I got a little boy sitting over there, 13 years old. I ain't taking out the trash no more. I pay my dues. I have delegated that responsibility to Joey. Monday night, get that trash out. Tuesday morning, bring it back. That's what parents do. We delegate responsibilities to our children to train them.

[Pastor]

Up.

[Co-Pastor]

That's what good leaders do. You don't have to control everything. You delegate authority and responsibility to others. There's no way I can lead a global ministry if I have my hands on everything. So I have to raise up leaders

[Pastor]

and cast vision and delegate responsibilities.

[Co-Pastor]

What you think I'm doing during the week? So in the ascension of Jesus, we see the exaltation of Christ. We see the delegation of Christ. That's what we see. Watch in Christ, we see those things. We see the next iteration of the ministry of Christ. No longer is he on earth being a minister. Now his ministry has changed. Now he's in heaven being a minister to you. For the scripture tells us now that he's in heaven. According to Hebrews, he is your great high priest. His ministry has changed to the next iteration. He got a download, he got an upgrade. Now he's in heaven making intercession for you and I that by his blood you can have access to your father

[Pastor]

and come to the throne boldly because of your great high priest, Hebrews 4.

[Co-Pastor]

Not only that, we learned in First John that he is your Watch this

[Pastor]

word advocate, always defending you against the lies of the devil in heaven. First John.

[Co-Pastor]

So when the devil be coming to accuse you, you see what she did, you see what he did, you see the mistakes they made. You see that blood he smoked? You see what they did last night? And the Lord be like, yeah, I saw that, sister. The devil I saw. But they covered in the blood though. I saw the mistake they made. I saw that mistake, but she covered in the blood. I saw the mistake he made, but

[Pastor]

he's covered in the blood.

[Co-Pastor]

That's the name for the devil, the accuser of the brothers. So when he's constantly accusing you before God, the Lord is right there being your advocate, say, yeah, I know, but they covered in my blood though. They gonna get right. They covered in my blood though. So he's still a minister, but there's a new iteration of his ministry. Now he's in heaven being a priest and an advocate for you. First John, Hebrews 4. So in the ascension of Christ, we see the exaltation of Christ, we see the delegation of Christ, we see the new iteration of Christ, we see watch the prophetic declaration concerning Christ. These angels said this same Jesus that went up on a cloud, he Will

[Pastor]

return the same way you saw him leave. How? Riding in on a cloud. This is all of Revelation 19, right? No more baby in a manger.

[Co-Pastor]

No, that season is over now.

[Pastor]

He got eyes like a burning fire. He got a tattoo on his thigh that says, king of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is in a robe dipped in blood and riding on a white horse. And his name is faithful and true.

[Co-Pastor]

And the Scripture says in Revelation, when he comes back, he comes back to

[Pastor]

make war, to destroy the armies of

[Co-Pastor]

those who reject him. Ain't no little baby in a manger. That's over now. He commands the armies of heaven. He's the rider on the white horse of Revelation 19. Behind him is the army. All of us. So we see all these powerful things in the rev. In the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is so powerful to me. Verse 12. Okay, everybody watch this very carefully. Watch now what Luke does. Everybody listen. He's about to write for us. Listen to me carefully. The very first movements of the Christian Church. Let me repeat this to you. What I'm about to read to you next. And what we about to read, until I pray for you, is Luke's post, his footage, his recording of the very first movements of the first church in its embryonic form. Look at the movements of the first church. Verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet. I love this, which is near Jerusalem. A Sabbath day's journey. A Sabbath day journey is about a half a mile. It was the length that a Jew can walk legally on the Sabbath day, about a half a mile. The Mount of Olives is just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. And when they had entered, they went up into an upper room where they were staying Peter and John. Now watch these people. And James, watch them carefully. Andrew, Philip, watch who's in the room. Thomas is in the room. Bartholomew, who's that guy? Matthew, the former outcast Jew. Watch who's in the room. James, the son of Alphaeus. Pay attention. And Simon the Zealot, who used to be radical crazy off the hinges. He was a YN turned to a yd, a young disciple. Got that from bryson. We turned yns into yds. Shout out to bryson. I said we turned yns into yds. We turned them into young disciples. No matter where we find them, we

[Pastor]

turn them into young disciples. Simon the Zealot was a wild man

[Co-Pastor]

in the street who became a disciple. And Judas, the son of James, all these were with one accord. And they devoted themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary and The mother of Jesus and his brothers. Okay, pay attention to the text. The first church in its embryonic stage. Look at their movements. What is the first thing we see them do? The first thing we see them do is go into the city of Jerusalem. What is that? They are obeying the commands of Christ. We see in the first church a heart of obedience, a heart of submission. That the words of Jesus is not suggestions or options. When they come across the words of Christ, they take it serious and they obey. And then what we see in them, we see a togetherness, a unity. It says that they were all in one accord. Now, everybody pay attention to the text. Look at the people who were in the room, the disciples, who all fled and left John by himself at the cross. Watch. I'm going somewhere. Look who else is in the room. Peter, who denied Jesus three times. Watch. Look who else is in the room. Thomas, who doubted Jesus until he felt his prince in his hand. Look who's also in the room. Simon the Zealot, who was a wild man turned into a disciple. Look who else is in the room. The four brothers of Jesus, who the Scripture says called him crazy and out of his mind and did not believe in him until he was raised, said, pastor, I don't get it, man. There is enough baggage in that room for them to have strife, discord, slander and tearing each other down, man. I could see John talking to Peter. Peter, you shouldn't be in here. You denied our Lord three times. I could see John talking to the other disciples. Y' all don't belong in here. Y' all all ran when I stayed. I could see the brothers of Jesus saying, y' all don't belong in here. Y' all wasn't even raised with him. We was raised in the same house with him. I can see them saying to the brothers of Jesus. Who you think you're talking to? Y' all didn't even believe in him until after he was raised. I can see them talking to Matthew. We don't even know why you here. You're a traitor.

[Pastor]

You work for Rome. Thomas.

[Co-Pastor]

You ain't got no business doing here. Nobody can convince you of nothing. You're the only dude that got a seed to believe.

[Pastor]

There's enough baggage in that room for them to have strife beef issues.

[Co-Pastor]

Watch the word slander. Ain't that what we do in the body of Christ? All we do is slander each other all day long and tear each other down all day long. We spend all this energy slandering one another, destroying one another. Crucifying one another. You know why? They was on one accord. They saw the gravity of what Jesus had called them to do was far more important than their differences. For they was about to be persecuted. They was about to go through hardships and trial. They was about to go through difficulty. And the gravity of the calling was greater than their differences. Man, I look in this room right now, I see black faces and white faces and brown faces and Asian faces. Just imagine how stupid it is, man, for the white brother to be sitting next to the black sister with the dope eyelashes and the bundle she got her joint gelled down perfectly. For him to be looking at her like. Look at her eyelashes and her bundles condemning her. And for her to be looking at him like, man, look at how pale he is. He needs some melanin. Imagine how stupid that is when they've

[Pastor]

been saved by the same God, they've been covered by the same blood, and they've been given the same assignment. We are more powerful when we are united. We are more powerful when we love one another. This is why we should pray more than we judge. How can 2019 sign will reach records? Did it ever occur to you that we had many offers and we prayed and sought the Lord and we followed the Holy Spirit, even if we didn't understand. Even if you don't understand. All we do is slander, gossip, discord,

[Co-Pastor]

beating down people who created an image of God instead of saying, we may be different and we may not agree about everything. Was Christ dead? Did Christ come? Yes. Christ lived, Christ taught, Christ died. Christ raised. Christ coming back. Christ gave us a great commission. Can we agree about that? Let's change the world. Let's change the world. I may have more melon than you, but let's change the world. Imagine how it grieves the Father that we spend all day on social media dogging each other and crucifying each other when we should be coming after the real enemy, which is the devil. Look what the first church has. There's enough baggage in this room to make videos about each other for the next few months. They don't do that. They are in one accord. In the Greek, it testifies of their togetherness. They obey. They're in unity. What's the first thing they do when they get in there unprompted? They pray. They're praying because prayer was the foundation of the church. A prayerless church is a powerless church. A prayerless believer is a powerless believer.

[Pastor]

You want to see a woman with power?

[Co-Pastor]

I'll show you a woman that Prays.

[Pastor]

You want to see a man with power? I show you a man that prays. Too many sermons, no prayer. Too much songs, no prayer, too much ministry, no prayer, too much churches, no prayer. Prayer is the foundation of 2019.

[Co-Pastor]

Prayer is our secret sauce.

[Pastor]

Prayer is our power.

[Co-Pastor]

They will find themselves watch, praying. The Lord is gone and immediately they're seeking him in prayer. Verse 15. And in those days, Peter stood up. Oh my gosh, this is so much heat. In those days, Peter stood up amongst the brothers. The company of persons was in all about 120. And he said, stop right there. Everybody watch carefully. Two powerful things in that verse. Jesus is not in that room. The leader is gone. And I just want to remind some of you that you, you know, let me just throw this in there real quick before I come back to this verse. There's some of you who come from denominations and backgrounds where the Holy Spirit is real spirit, spooky to you and you don't want nothing to do with him. I just want to help you theologically that Jesus is not down here. Jesus has a physical body and he is seated at the right hand of the Father. So when you're down here and you're feeling like, something told me not to go there. Something told me, don't marry that person. Something told me, don't get into that relationship. Something told me, take that job. Something told me leave the city I was in and come to Atlanta and join 28:19. Something encouraging me, man, I felt that strength come to me. Who you think is doing all of that? The Holy Spirit. The person you don't want to talk to, don't want to acknowledge. You can talk to him. You can ask him questions. You can say, holy Spirit, should I take this deal? Should I marry this person? Should I sign that contract? You can talk to him and he will respond back to you. In your heart, he is your helper. Now look at the two things that happen here. So powerful. Jesus is not in the room. Everybody watch. There's one hundred and twenty people in that room. No leader. That's a large group. Peter, watch. Sensing they need a leader, had always had a big mouth. He discerns the moment. And now watch. This is what I call when preparation meets opportunity. See, when preparation meets opportunity, that is a recipe for a brand new season. Peter had been preparing for this by always being a loudmouth. And now an opportunity had come for a new leader. He's unprompted by anybody. Watch. He stands up. It's symbolic of him saying, I accept my Calling as the first pastor of this church. I remember when Jesus said on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell would not prevail against the it. He was saying on the revelation of who I am. And you, Peter, you will be the pastor of the first church. Now, Peter, in the moment, watch now. All of his preparation three years has now met opportunity. And instead of letting the opportunity go by him, he stands up symbolically and say now I will accept my calling and my assignment. And I just think we need more of that America. We need starting with men.

[Pastor]

We need more men to stand up and accept their leadership role. We need more men to stand up as leaders in their home and stop being passive and stop being cowards. We need more men to stand up on teams. We need men to stand up in church. We need men to stand up on social media. We need men to stand up. Men. Too many boys and passive little boys that won't lead, won't take responsibility, won't take accountability. You can't keep hiding behind your wife and your girlfriend at some point in time. Men gotta stand up, man. Men gotta stand stand up.

[Co-Pastor]

I wish I had a thousand men that would just holler at me for just a second.

[Pastor]

Where you at, man? That's all you got? That's all you got? That's all you got? That's all you got? That's all you got? That's all you got? Where all the men at? Take the roof off this place.

[Co-Pastor]

A praying man is a sexy man.

[Pastor]

Where all my ladies at? A praying man is a sexy man. A man who take accountability is a sexy man. A man that takes responsibility is a sexy man. A man that reads A man that prays A man that leads A man that suffers is a sexy man.

[Co-Pastor]

A man of character is a sexy man. A man of integrity is a sexy man. A man pursuing holiness is a sexy man. A man pursuing purity is a sexy man.

[Pastor]

A man who learns to hate sin is a sexy man.

[Co-Pastor]

Just bring him here and leave him with us for six months. Bring him here, Leave him here for six months. A man that knows to apologize is a sexy man.

[Pastor]

Peter stood up.

[Co-Pastor]

He stepped into his role as a godly leader.

[Pastor]

Our daughters need to see that. Our sons need to see that. Our girlfriends need to see that. Our fiance's need to see that. Our wives need to see need to see that. The women in our church need to see that. Jesus wasn't no soft Picking lilies

[Co-Pastor]

Floating

[Pastor]

around through valleys he wasn't on sauce picking lilies worried about not getting his nails dirty.

[Co-Pastor]

He was rough and rugged. I ain't coming back to that church. I don't know why you brought me there. Go be a coward then. Go be a little punk with your

[Pastor]

tail between your legs, then. Go ahead. Stay there. The kingdom is for real men.

[Co-Pastor]

Come on, sir.

[Pastor]

Peter stood up.

[Co-Pastor]

I feel like Eminem with the real men. Please stand up.

[Pastor]

Shout, men, shout.

[Co-Pastor]

Trying to help all y' all sisters. Can I proceed? Yes, indeed. Y' all too young for that. Got that from the prophet Lil Kim, the prophetess. Peter stood up because this is what happened. When preparation meets opportunity, when they intersect, a new season is born. The kingdom after this will become the pastor of the church. If he did not stand up, that would not have happened. You never know what you miss when you don't stand up. You have no idea what we forfeiting by being cowards. I ain't no coward. Could throw all the arrows they want. As long as God gives me grace, I'm gonna be on two legs preaching the truth of this gospel until he calls me home.

[Pastor]

I ain't no punk and I ain't no coward.

[Co-Pastor]

And when we stand up, God walks us into new seasons that you would have missed had you not stood up, men and women. But you see the second thing in the text. Watch the details. Luke put in there, the historian. He'll do this for the rest of Acts. Watch, he writes, watch. 120 people in the room. You should be thinking, now, Jesus was seen alive by over 500. So there's another 380 people plus not in that room. Where are they? We don't know. Pure conjecture. Maybe following Jesus became too much. Maybe they only followed him to the point it was no longer convenient. Maybe they were fans of Christ and not followers of Christ. And maybe the 120 were the true followers of Christ. Because it's easy to be a fan. It's another thing to be a follower. Fans of Christ hear stories. Followers write stories. These 120 followers of Christ was about to write a brand new story that would change the whole world while other people was watching was about to happen. That's why you got to be in the room, in the kingdom, on the team, in the squad. You got to be in the community. You got to be in and amongst. Because you have no idea what you're going to miss when you're not in and amongst these men, these hundred. Their lives are about to be changed in 10 days for the people that were in the room. Verse 16. Now here comes Peter. First order of business, brothers. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled. Watch what he's doing. Watch what he's doing. What had to be fulfilled? The Scriptures. The very first pastor. What is he doing? He's preaching the word of God. Not his opinions, not his dogma. He's preached. The very first pastor. Watch the. Watch the. Watch the model. He's preaching the word of God. He's preaching the word of God. The Old Testament, brothers. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand. By the mouth of David, he sees. The Spirit spoke through David. The Spirit spoke through David. The Spirit spoke through David. The Spirit wrote the Old Testament. The Spirit wrote the New Testament. That's why Paul says all scripture is inspired by God. Concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus and was numbered among us who was allotted his share of his ministry. Then Luke makes his own insert. Now, this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness. Falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. So that field was called in their very own language a kaldama. This is field of blood. He continues Peter's message, for it is written in the book of the Psalms. May his camp be desolate and let there be one to no one dwell in it and let another take his office. He's preaching about Judas. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all this time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us. Now watch the text. Beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us, one of these men watch the word must. So what's the other thing we see the first pastor doing? Encouraging them to obey the Scriptures.

[Pastor]

Not just be hearers. Only hear and obey.

[Co-Pastor]

Come to church and obey.

[Pastor]

Read and obey. We must. One must.

[Co-Pastor]

These men must become with us a witness to the resurrection of Christ. Now, let me just tell you what's going on. I'm gonna read the last verses. I'm gonna pray. Very simple. There are 11 apostles. Now, the 12th apostle betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He is guilty. Because of betrayal, he takes that blood money. That's what the scripture calls it. Blood money. He throws it at the feet of the Pharisees who set up Jesus. The Pharisee says, we don't want that blood money. He runs out. The Pharisees purchase a field. Judas now, not Peter. I'm sorry. Judas guilty because of his betrayal. Instead of repenting, that's what guilt should do to you. Not make you run away from God. Run to God. Instead of repenting, he goes out to the field, ties a rope around his neck, hangs himself by a tree. As he's hanging on a tree, he dies. Suicide. His body falls from the branch. It falls straight down to the ground. His body hits the rocks, his insides gush open onto the floor. He threw away his whole life, his calling, his opportunity, his ministry as an apostle for 30 pieces of silver. He compromised his whole life for material gain. And watch this. I'm gonna help some of y' all that love to compromise everything he compromised for. He lost the money, he lost his position, he lost his apostleship. He's lost his community. He lost his life. He lost. He kept nothing in compromise. You keep nothing in compromise. We only lose. And so watch. Peter says we can't start the ministry with 11. It must be 12 apostles. Now watch. We must fill this office. To do this is to obey the prophecy of the Scriptures. So the first pastor is preaching the word of God and encouraging people to obey the word of God. That's not legalism. That's not just lawism. That's not being mean. That's called love. Reading the Scriptures. Obey the Scriptures. Read the Scriptures, Obey the Scriptures. Hear sermons, obey sermons. This is how your life has changed. He says the requirement for the replacement must be someone who had been around us from the very beginning, that whoever we replaced Judas with, they would have had to be around Jesus from the very beginning. Now watch the next verse carefully. Verse 23. And they put forth two men you've never heard of Joseph, called Barbas, who's also called Justus. You never heard of Justus. And a man named Matthias. You never heard of him, you never heard of them, but they was. The criteria was must been around Jesus from the very beginning. All right, I'm going. I'm going somewhere with that. And they prayed and said, you, Lord, know the hearts of all, shall show us. Which one of these two have you chosen? I'm done, Frank. To take place in this ministry and the apostleship from what Judas had turned aside to go his own place. And they cast lots for them. And the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the 11 apostles. Everybody, look. Eye contact. Look right here. Peter said the apostleship must have 12 men. There's a gap that needs to be fulfilled. We need to fill the staff with one more person. But the criteria for that staff position is it must be someone who had been around us and Jesus from the very beginning, who saw him resurrected. But you've never heard the name Matthias in the Gospels. You've never heard the name justice, not one time in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You've never read the Gospels and heard those names, but they've been around Jesus from the very beginning. It is a good picture that you don't have to be famous and you don't need a stage, even if no one knows your name. You know what opened the door for Matthias and justice? Faithfulness. That you don't have to force yourself into a role, you don't have to force yourself into a position. You don't have to force yourself to be seen. Your faithfulness will speak for you. When you are faithful, you know what follows faithful people? Favor follows faithful people. And when you are faithful, favor will open up doors. Favor will open up relationships. Faithful will put faithful, will put you in places you had no business doing. Favor will put you on the hearts and minds of people you don't even know are thinking about you. Matthias, we never hear of him. Justice, we never hear of them. But what we know about them is that they were faithful. They have been there all this time. And watch how they were chosen. They was not chosen because of nepotism. They were chosen as Peter led them to watch. Lord, search you know the hearts of these men. You know what Peter's doing. God tell us which one to choose. He's showing us how to make life decisions. How do you make life decisions? Seek God. How you getting married and you have not prayed. How you starting a ministry and you have not prayed. How you doing anything? That's a major life decision. And you have. You know, we see in the first church, we see a church that is obedient to the Scriptures. We see a church that is unified. We see a church that is serious about prayer. We see a church that is seeking God for decisions. We see the embryonic form of what we should be as the Christian church today is what we should be as the bride of Christ in America. And what we should be as the bride of Christ around the entire world. And while we will have problems, while we will struggle in the flesh, if we will be powerful, if we will be focused on the calling that God has given us to spread the gospel to the whole world, to make disciples, to be his witnesses. We will be a powerful church if we are following the scriptures, if we are fighting for unity, if we're pushing back against discord and strife, if we watch together as one, if we are obeying the things that we are hearing and trying to. To do this not just Coming and hearing sermons, but trying to live this out. And if we're seeking God for our major decisions, man, this is what we see in the very first church. This is what we need to see in America. In the bride. This is what we need to see around the whole world. In the bride. This is what I want to see for 28 19. A people striving for obedience. Surrender to the scriptures. Seeking God in prayer, making decisions, seeking God not fighting to get into positions, fighting for unity, man, if we do this, we will be a powerful bride in Georgia, in America, on every continent on the planet. And this is my prayer for you and I. So Father, in the name of the Holy One, I pray for the bride of Christ in the whole world.

[Pastor]

That a spirit of obedience would fall on her. A spirit of prayer would fall on her. A spirit of unity would fall on her. A spirit of seeking you for guidance and direction would fall on her. And that in these last days, globally, we will be serious about the spread of the gospel, the multiplying of disciples and being witnesses for you in every sphere of influence. Help us to do that. In these final hours of the church

[Co-Pastor]

age, we have not come to play around. This is my prayer for the bride of Christ. In the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our soon coming king, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you receive that, put your hands together and give Jesus praise.