Holy Spirit Impact

Luke 24:45-49

Holy Spirit Impact

There are moments on this journey of faith when heaven seems to lean in close—moments when God reveals not only what God has done, but what God intends to do through God’s people.

Our Gospel Lesson for this morning from Luke is one of these moments.

Jesus, standing with his disciples after the Resurrection opens their minds to understand the Scriptures.

He shows them how the entire story of God—the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms—points toward liberation, forgiveness and a mission that stretches to all nations, and we are called to carry out that mission.

But how do we go about it and what kind of mission is it?

There are so many problems in this world and in our community.

What exactly is God calling us, as a church, to focus on?

Just when the disciples are ready to get moving Jesus gives them a command that would shape the entire future of the church: “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

What does he mean by that?

If you spend any time around scientists, engineers or academics—and I know you do—you’ll hear a familiar phrase: “Look at the data.”

Humans love data.

We love evidence.

We love things we can measure, test, replicate and peer-review.

And honestly, I am so thankful for that.

Faith communities are stronger in my opinion, not weaker, when we welcome curiosity, critical thinking, and the courage to ask hard questions.

So when Jesus gathers the disciples and says basically: “Stay here. Wait. Pray. Don’t move until you are clothed with power from on high,” it’s almost jarring.

There’s no timeline.

No measurable outcomes.

No Powerpoint.

Just prayer.

If Jesus said this to us today, we would be prone to ask: “Is there a grant proposal for this? A workflow? A Gantt chart?”

But Jesus is inviting them and us into a different kind of knowing.

Not the kind that replaces data, but the kind that complements it.

Not the kind that rejects evidence, but the kind that expands our understanding of what it means to be fully human.

Prayer is the spiritual equivalent of mindfulness, grounding, and deep listening—but with the added dimension of relationship.

Today, we who are part of First Church have been invited to begin a 28-day prayer experience.

For those who choose to participate, every day for 28 days, we will be praying a breakthrough prayer, asking God for God’s power to break through and transform our lives as we seek to know the mission focus God has in mind for First Church.

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Breakthrough Prayer is asking God for new possibilities to break through.

Part of this exercise includes what is called a “prayer hold.”

A prayer hold is a short phrase or Scripture verse we can use for frequent prayer throughout the day.

I have found them to be especially helpful when I get distracted, feel down or burnt out or tempted to move away from God’s Way.

A Prayer Hold helps me refocus and realign my spiritual eyes back on discerning and following the Spirit’s activity and guidance.

We live in a world where our phones buzz more than bees in the summer, and I don’t need to tell you that trying to pray with a distracted mind can be like trying to meditate in the middle of a Target Store on Black Friday.

Trying to understand God’s direction without prayer is like driving with a fogged-up windshield.

We can see shapes, but not meaning.

Prayer can be compared to a defroster that clears the view.

(pause)

Jesus “opened” the disciples “minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”

The Greek word used here for “opened” means more than “explained.”

It means to unlock, to reveal, to make possible what was previously impossible to see.

Prayer is the posture that says: “Lord, I cannot understand without you.”

We often approach the mission of the church with our own assumptions, our own agendas, and thus our own limitations.

But prayer invites God to do only

what God can do—open our minds, soften our hearts and illuminate the path ahead.

A few years ago, an engineer joined his church’s mission committee.

He wanted to know which new direction the church should take.

He approached it like a design problem.

He built spread sheets.

He analyzed census data.

He mapped needs.

But nothing clicked.

One evening, feeling frustrated, he sat alone in the sanctuary.

He had no agenda, no analysis…

…just silence.

He prayed, “God, what do YOU see here?”

He said that “In that moment, I realized I had never actually met the people I was trying to help.”

Prayer opened his mind, shifted his perspective and revealed what data alone could not reveal.