May 27, 2007
"You Shall Receive Power"
Acts 1: 1- 8
How many here this morning have ever sung the African American spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?” Do you know the history of that song? Although some dispute this, most now believe that it was originally written by an African American slave by the name of Wallace Willis in 1840. The nearby Red River in Oklahoma Territory where he lived reminded Willis of the Jordan River in the Bible and the entrance to the promised land. His difficult life made him think of the fiery chariot that God sent Elijah to bring him to heaven, the ultimate promised land. And he longed for the day when the Lord would send that chariot for him.
I believe that a similar thought must have entered the mind of a 90 year old man in my previous congregation. For several years he had cared for his wife who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. But, over the past couple of years her care was too much for him to manage, so he was forced to place her a nearby nursing home. During that same time he was stricken with shingles. For a while he was in so much pain, he could hardly get up. I remember visiting him. With tears in his eyes, he wondered if it was wrong to pray that the Lord would just take him home. I really didn’t know what to say.
When God’s people experience sadness and frustration it is only natural to think about our home in heaven or about the new heaven and earth. I wonder sometimes if some of the increased speculation about Jesus’ second coming isn’t due to some of the frustrations God’s people feel with the increasing immorality in our society and with the expanding influence of non Christian ideas. Maybe even some of us here this morning find ourselves wondering about this.
Certainly that was going the minds of the disciples when Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God. The kingdom Jesus promised hadn't arrived—or at least they had a hard time seeing it. Things looked pretty bleak. The Jewish leaders had accused them of stealing Jesus' body. They live in constant fear of being arrested. That’s why they were meeting secretly in an upper room. In addition to all that, the Romans were still very much in control of Palestine. Nothing had changed. As those who had seen Jesus ride triumphantly into Jerusalem, as those who believed what he said about the kingdom coming, they wanted to know when it would come. Jesus had died and arose again. They hoped now would be the time "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Notice that Jesus didn't answer their question directly. He merely assured them that the Father had it all planned. And then he continues with the theme that he had brought up in verse 5, when told them to wait in Jerusalem to be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
All this sounds strangely similar to an incident that happened earlier in Jesus ministry. It’s recorded in Luke 7: 18 and following. John the Baptist had boldly proclaimed that the Messiah had now arrived. As you may remember, the Messiah was the king from David line who would establish his throne in Jerusalem, free God’s people, and set up a kingdom that would spread over the whole earth. John had preached he would root and destroy all that was evil and set everything to right. He recalled the words of Isaiah the prophet
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.
But after preaching so boldly, John found himself in prison. And the one he had believed was the Messiah was merely going around preaching and healing. So John was confused and began to doubt. And sent two of his disciples to ask,
“Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Listen to what Jesus replied.
“Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Jesus did not deny that a judgment was coming in which God’s enemies would be destroyed. He didn’t deny that a day was coming when the whole earth would bow down to him and acknowledge him as king and ruler. Certainly that time would come. But, first other things must take place. First, the good news must be preached and the poor and blind and lame must be gathered into the kingdom. God was not on John’s time table; he had his own agenda— his own plan. And his plan is always best.
People of God, that is also important for us to realize. God is not our time table. And so rather than being impatient with him, it is much better to focus on what he is doing right now and what he is calling us to do.
As I think of that elderly man I spoke of earlier. Yes, there were times when in pain he wanted to go and be with the Lord. But, after he was able to get up, in spite of his pain, he would go day after day and visit his wife in the nursing home. She never did forget him and his visits lifted her spirits. I and others who spoke with him also were moved by his faith. In spite of his pain and frustration, it was always uplifting to visit with him. About a year later his son found him slumped in his easy chair. He had quietly died of cardiac arrest. The Lord took him home.
23Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
But there’s more to Jesus answer than just a call to wait and plod along as best we can. Jesus was telling John that that promised kingdom that John had been waiting for had come. No, not in the way John thought it would. But in the way God determined it would. In Luke 4: 16 and following Jesus explains how that kingdom had come— how the promises of the Old Testament were being fulfilled,
6He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Today this scripture is fulfilled. The kingdom has come. No, it’s not complete yet. The enemy forces are still out there. Jesus is still battling Satan and sin and death and sickness and poverty and injustice. But, the kingdom has come.
In fact, today, the king is on the throne in heaven. Look at verse 9. That’s what the story of Jesus’ ascension is all about—the story of Jesus going up and sitting at the right hand of God. (I Peter 3: 21)
Jesus Christ, … has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him
But that same Jesus who went up into heaven is also with us here today. He is here through his Holy Spirit.
5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Today Rachel Gramlow was baptized. Rachel, through this baptism Jesus has promised you that your sins have been washed away because of what he did on the cross. And because your sins are washed away, he promises that he will be your Lord and King and that you have a place in his kingdom. You are one of his people. That’s a wonderful promise. But, there’s more. If you trust him and seek to live one of his people, he promises to baptize you with his Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit is God himself. He is one with God the Father, he is one with Jesus, who is God the Son. And he promises that if you trust him and obey him, this same Spirit will live in you. And he will go with you where ever you go and no matter you face in your life. When you are sick, he will be there. When you are afraid he will be there. When you are sad and lonely he will be there. He will be with you always.
In John 14 he says this about the Holy Spirit.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Al and Angie and Erica, that’s your promise too. And that promise is to who belong to him by faith. I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you.
But, Jesus is not merely comforting us with these words. He also is challenging us to get to work. In Luke 4, Jesus claimed what the prophet Isaiah said, The Spirit of the Lord is on me… And he went out and did what his Father sent him to earth to do: to preach and heal and suffer and die and rise again. In Acts 1 he told his disciples then and he tells us, his disciples today, “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
And then look at verse 8 again, when the Spirit comes on you, you will receive power. The Greek word used here is that word dunamis. It means literally, "the ability to act." It is the ability to do what God intends us to do. Thus, it is related to the task that he is giving us. There is always a relationship between what God gives and what he expects. There is always a relationship between our gifts and our task. Failure to use our gifts to do what he calls us to do is to be like the unfaithful steward who buried his talent in the ground and who was condemned by his master. (see Matthew 25: 14- 28)
Where Jesus is present through the Holy Spirit, there his kingdom is also. In Luke 16: 20- 21, we read these words, "Being asked by the Pharisees then the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say , 'Lo, here it is! or There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17: 20- 21 RSV) Jesus is the king. And where the king and his subjects are there is the kingdom.
The kingdom is not complete, but it is being built. When I was in Raymond, MN as a student intern during the summer of 1990 I had the opportunity of seeing the new addition to their church being built. It was fascinating to be so close to a major building project and see all that went into it. Right now Jesus is working on an even greater building project. He is building his kingdom. While it is fascinating to see, we are not just called to be bystanders. We are the workers.
Note in verse 2 that they are the apostles that he has chosen. As Reformed Christians we emphasize divine election. God chose us; we didn't choose him. Yet, we must realize that God everyone whom God chooses, he also assigns a task. We are God workmanship created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2: 10 RSV) As I consider the times in which we live and the calling of God, I think of a sermon that I heard by evangelist Ravi Zacharias. After decrying the times in which we live as being those in which the very foundations of our culture are being destroyed he said, "Into such a time as this God has called you and me."
And what is the task for which Jesus’ disciples received power? Look at the rest of verse 8, "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We are to be Jesus’ witnesses. A witness is one who doesn't just proclaim the gospel, but has experienced the gospel. As those who have witnessed its power in our lives we are called to share that experience with others
We began by thinking about that African American spiritual “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” Did you know that song was a favorite of Harriet Tubman? Harriet was once a slave who gained her freedom by fleeing to Canada. But, once she arrived there she didn’t just sit back and enjoy her own freedom. Working with the Philadelphia anti-slavery society and the Underground Railroad, she went back to the South and helped more the 300 others to travel the road to freedom as well. As a Christian, Harriet knew that she had a freedom no slave owner could take away from her. Yet, she also knew that God put her here on this earth for a purpose. And so she risked her physical freedom and her life to help others become free. And she did her best to make this world look a little more like the new heaven and earth—a place where slavery will be no more. Today the results of her witness still stand. And because of what she did, we can have a glimpse of the kingdom that is to come.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit the disciples did as Jesus commanded in spite of terrible personal pain, imprisonment and death. The Greek word for witness is martur. It’s the word that we get our word martyr from. And that’s what happened to many of the disciples. As they carried out Jesus’ command to be his witnesses, they were martyred for their faith. But, God was with them, giving them power. And the gospel spread from Jerusalem and Judea, to Samaria, and to ends of the earth. The Book of Acts records how that happened. And we can see how it is still happening today. Beloved in the Lord, in spite of the difficulties we face as Jesus' witnesses, he is is conquering our world and establishing his kingdom through his church today. Rather than wringing our hand over the evil we face, let us follow his leading, for he gives us power. AMEN.