Acts 1:1-11 & Luke 24:44-53 Ascended to Empower

Transcription

1 Acts 1:1-11 & Luke 24:44-53 Ascended to Empower The promise of Jesus before leaving: Ascension Sunday May 2015 Acts 1: 1-11 (ESV) The Promise of the Holy Spirit 1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 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, you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. The Ascension 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 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. 9 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. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 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. Luke 24: (ESV) The Promise of the Holy Spirit 44 Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. The Ascension 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. Intro: We sing a great little song in both Big church and in KidZchurch. The first part goes like this: Message Ascension Lord I lift your name on high! Lord I love to sing your praises! I'm so glad you re in my life! Lord I lift your name on high Lord I love to sing your praises I'm so glad you re in my life This is about the desire to praise the Lord Jesus because he lives in our life. Then in the second part it tells the vertical story of God s saving action in Jesus Christ that lies behind the personal experience: Listen for the up and down action of each line: You came from heaven to earth, to show the way! From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay! From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky! Lord I lift your name on high. You came from heaven to earth, to show the way From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky Lord I lift your name on high. The song traces the moves of God for our salvation in simple up and down terms.

2 2 It begins in heaven, which even today is referred to as up there when it is really wherever God reigns but we all get it anyway just as we understand sunrise and sunset when its really earth-spin. The Saviour drops from heaven to earth for the Incarnation. He rises from the earth to the cross so that we could be redeemed. He drops from the cross to the grave and then from there he rises suddenly to the sky. Unfortunately the song misses out Jesus rising from the grave back to life on earth before going on to rise to heaven or the sky. Leaving out the Resurrection is a bit of an oversight but there was only one syllable left for the songwriter to work with! It probably also says sky instead of heaven out of the same need to keep rhythm with a single syllable. While the song misses a theological beat or two it has value as it traces the gospel and makes a very important connection, one that I want to focus on today being Ascension Sunday. The helpful and necessary connection is the one between the personal activity of lifting the Lord s name on high out of joyful gratitude and the shape of what God did for us in coming down, and down deeper, before coming up and rising some more to be back where he started from. That connection between what God did in the descending and rising work of Jesus encompassing his Birth Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension is the matter of consideration in the two accounts of the Ascension we heard read from Luke s Gospel and his Book of Acts. Yes, Luke wrote both those books and overlapped these scrolls on this Ascension and pre-pentecost story that he tells twice. The Text I want to point to in the texts and draw some conclusions: In both the Gospel and the Acts passage Jesus has a command and a promise for his disciples. In the Gospel they are to wait in the city of Jerusalem for the promised empowerment by the Holy Spirit But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. [Luke 24:49] But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. [Luke 24:49] And in the Book of Acts, 4 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, you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many 4 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, you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but 8 you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, [Acts 1:4,5 & 8] days from now. 8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, [Acts 1:4,5 & 8] The focus here is receiving God s spiritual power to be and do something super, or above human capacity. On the point of his departure for the last upward leg of his earthly mission, Jesus is saying that there is more heaven coming to earth in the form of the power of the Holy Spirit falling on them. So stay together, wait here until that happens. 2 things to note with this promise: who the promise of power is made to & There are two things to note about this promise: Who the promise of power is made to, and what the promised power is for. what the promised power is for.

3 Who is that promised spiritual power for? I see that it was made to people who had been Jesus disciples and were continuing as disciples of Jesus even after having seen the cross and resurrection. They were men and women who had committed themselves to becoming human the Jesus way. They were actively desiring to be people who lived in the Kingdom, or Reign of God as Jesus modeled it. They sought to be loving, forgiving, generous, righteous and loyal to Father God. Thus: the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit was being affirmed for existing disciples of Jesus. Not everyone we met in the Gospels would receive this promise: The rich young man who loved his wealth more than Jesus was not in view. Those who walked away because what he said was too hard were not in view. The 9 lepers who never acknowledged their healing were not in view. This was a promise for disciples open to Jesus imprinted transformation to be empowered. 3 The question for anyone here seeking the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is this: Are you a disciple of Jesus? Is that your life s chosen theme and thread? Are you seeking to become more like him? If you are not a disciple of Jesus then the promised power is not for you. 1 What is that promised spiritual power for? This is something even the first disciples after three years of intensive training from Jesus were a bit confused about themselves! In the Acts passage, after promised the Baptism in the Holy Spirit Jesus gives a corrective to some mistaken thinking by the first disciples. 6 they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. [Acts 1:6] The male mind seems to easily misunderstand power! Some of Jesus followers still thought they were associates of a political messiah who was about to give power for the restoration of the nation. They wanted to know the time frame for the re-empowerment of Israel as a nation. The positive outcome from this confusion was more clarification from Jesus as to the purpose of the promised spiritual power and what it was for. 8 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. [Acts 1:8] They were to be empowered to be a witness to the reality of Jesus in their lives and thus Jesus as alive. This affirmed what had been reported in Luke s Gospel account: 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. [Luke 24:48-49] There Jesus speaks in the present about what they had already seen yet needed the promised power from on high to witness to. 1 Simon the Magician in Acts 8:9-24 thought he could buy the power of the Holy Spirit!

4 4 Summary: Here is the thing, before leaving, Jesus promised the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to people who were his disciples for the purpose of enabling them to witness to Jesus as alive with in them and as Lord. The disciples of Jesus as they gathered with their risen Lord may well have wanted to sing: Lord I lift your name on high Lord I love to sing your praises I'm so glad you re in my life But to provide a witness to that reality and all it implied they needed to do more than sing in tune; they needed spiritual power beyond their own resources. Application & Conclusion So as we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God in glory lets take his words seriously: 1. a disciple 2 questions to consider 2. willing to live a life of witness? & Are you a disciple? Are you available and desiring to live lives of witness that reveal Jesus to other people. These are very serious questions. When God promises spiritual power I see two common types of reactions among church folk: A. Power is scary let alone spiritual power so politely, please, no thank-you. Let s rely on our own natural power as that keeps it all simple. Spiritual power is so complicated and causes problems. a. To me that illustrates a lack of discipleship. b. Prayer of fine but keep it poetic and sentimental. c. It has been common thinking since the rise of the institutional churches. B. Power, yes please. Give me power to live my life and do it better. Power over my problems would be fantastic, bring it on! a. That is the template of most religions where God is there to help us do our thing and keep us prosperous and safe. b. That can include the grand business of church seeking God s power to fulfill its own agenda instead of God s. Both these attitudes miss the intention of Jesus. Here is the truth: Jesus promises the Holy Spirit s empowerment to his disciples for the task of living lives of witness to him. Those 120 or so first generation disciples were still a bit confused and doubtful but enough were devoted enough to say, YES Lord, Amen! let s do it! We are devoted disciples who want to be and do in such a way that we witness to you in a way that enables people to see you. I want to encourage those two points of commitment in you. 1 Being a disciple open to the transforming power of the cross and resurrection in your life. 2 Being available to the Holy Spirit s empowerment for witness to Jesus as alive and reigning.

5 5 Fair warning: If you have not embraced these commitments, they could mess up your life! By the age of 25 I was married with a young family, a permanent teaching position, a 230 square meter architectural home with 50 square meter garage and workshop in the sunny suburbs. I heard a call and felt the fire to leave that way of life and roll with God. I wanted to be fruitful and do more than just survive. I can say I have had the privilege of leading many people to embrace the Lord Jesus because apparently I showed them something they wanted and could embrace. I did not have to do this. I was a happy and active church member, I did outreach work and was a member of the Church Works Committee. But I was open for more. I could still be there with my classic cars and freezer in the suburbs supporting my local church. I wanted to be a spiritually empowered witness and I still do. I want to commend this to you. This is the essential Ascension conversation between disciples and their Risen Lord. Do you want to be a person or a people of witness? If you don t want to then there is something wrong. Witness is an essential part of Christian life. If your heart does not desire to witness then we need to pray that changes. Witness is the purpose of Church as the Body of Christ. Church can be utilized for many other agendas but the Body is primarily meant to witness to the head. If that is not the prime agenda then something is out of order. Lets pray.