Do any of you know what is the last word in the Book of Acts? It is ακωλυτως, pronounced “ah-koh-LOO-tohs” by some and “ah-koh-LEE-tohs” by others, and means “not-hindered,” “not prevented,” “not limited,” or maybe, like the Travel Channel show, “NO RESERVATIONS!” The final verse in Acts (28:31) tells us that God’s Kingdom and what Jesus taught were being preached throughout the world with no barriers of race, geography or circumstances. Along with Dr. Frank Stagg, I firmly believe that this is the theme of Acts—overcoming barriers of race, resources, language, politics and opposition to preach Jesus. Along with European scholar Daniel Marguerat, I agree that Luke intentionally leaves the conclusion of Acts open-ended, so that when we read it, we realize that we ourselves are the sequel to the story of Paul as we act out the continuing history of the church in our own time.
So, how do we do that? Luke gives us a clue at the very beginning of the book. Read verses 1-2. The Gospel of Luke was written to demonstrate how Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God and taught people how to enter it. Notice the reference to Jesus’ command to His disciples. Does Luke 24:47 (where Jesus was referring to the prophets) come to mind? “…that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47 NASB) In the same way, Jesus gave such a command in Acts 1:8: “…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NASB) The Book of Acts is about the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, coming to empower the apostles after Jesus ascended.
Remember, Jerusalem was the navel of the earth to the average Jew. It was the most important location in the world to the original disciples. But it looks kind of small compared to the rest of the world, doesn’t it? Judea wasn’t much bigger, a relatively small thorn in the paw of the Roman Empire. Yet, if the Kingdom of God was to progress beyond the narrow provincialism of Zion, the message had to reach throughout the Jewish-dominated regions. But if the message was to reach the whole world, it had to go beyond the Jewish-dominated areas and make progress among Semitic tribes, Greek-speakers, Roman conquerors, Gallic tribes, Germanic tribes, Britannic tribes, Iberian tribes, Arabic tribes, Egyptians, Persians, and the Asians of what is now Turkey. That’s the world they knew, but ours is even larger.
Yet, notice the pattern. It starts with where you’re familiar. You’re not going to be an effective foreign missionary until you’re an effective witness at home. You’re not going to be an effective ambassador for God’s Kingdom until you’re an effective citizen of God’s Kingdom. We’re not going to change the world until we change what’s around us.
Now, in order to become effective, there are two important terms here that we can read right past if we’re not careful. First, we need to focus on the Holy Spirit. Nothing happened in the early church without the activity of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost in the KJV). This name for God appears 47 times as Holy Ghost and 5 times as Spirit (capitalized) in the KJV. In the 28 chapters of Acts, that’s 52 references, more than the 34 references in the 68 combined chapters of Matthew, Mark and Luke. That’s more than the 45 references in Romans’ and I Corinthians’ 32 chapters combined. Add together the Gospel of John and the three letters I, II and III John and you only find 21 references to the Holy Spirit in the 28 chapters.
What do all these numbers mean? I believe they mean that you cannot overcome the barriers to preaching the gospel without the power of the Holy Spirit. Some churches try to organize and some churches try to imitate successful churches. No church can succeed without depending on the Holy Spirit.
Second, note that the disciples are no longer called disciples. They are no longer “FOLLOWERS,” but they are commissioned messengers, deputized ambassadors. Now, they are called “apostles” – sent ones, people on a mission. That’s what the church is to be—people sent out to be the face of God’s mission. We’re familiar with celebrity endorsements of consumer products and causes, but we’ve seen all too often what happens when athletes are accused of immoral behavior, caught on camera smoking dope, or arrested for battery, animal cruelty, or illegal gun possession. Such behavior cheapens the perception of the product/cause they represent. And, even as a very minor “celebrity,” I knew as editor-in-chief of one publication and publisher of several others that whatever I said or did could reflect on the magazines. Still, I know there were occasions when I said or did stupid things in spite of knowing the potential damage I could do.
In the church, we have an advantage. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us. And, if the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and if we they are following the Holy Spirit, we will be SENT into the community and neighborhoods, the workplaces and the schools, the clubs and the athletic teams to preach, teach, share, and disciple according to God’s word.
Now, I know that I haven’t shown you anything new. This isn’t some inspirational concept that will immediately transform your lives. It is truth that you already know. You’re just saying, “When, O Lord, will you bring revival to our church?” You’re asking when something is going to happen so that we can win more people and be more effective.
That’s where the heart of my message is today. It’s all about God’s timing. [Read verses 3-8]. I see that Jesus was present with the disciples for 40 days and spoke with them about the Kingdom of God and gave them convincing proofs of His LIVING. In fact, the Greek verb that is translated “shewed himself alive” has the literal idea of being present with, being in the middle of that group. So, 40 days—yeah, got that!. Noah’s flood -- 40 days and nights, Moses on the mountain -- 40 days and nights, Elijah in the wilderness headed for Sinai/Horeb to hear the still, small voice -- 40 days, Jesus tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. 4, the number of the created order in gematria (4 cardinal directions, 4 living creatures around the throne of God (birds, domesticated animals, wild animals and humans --the fish get squeezed out in the vision because of Dagon and Leviathan, I suppose, but biologically, fish and birds are really the same--birds fly in the air and often swim in the water, fish swim in the water and sometimes fly in the air), 4 rivers coming out of the Garden of Eden, > etc.) * 10 (the number of sufficiency with 2 hands of 5 digits each and 2 feet of 5 digits each) = the amount of time sufficient for CREATION, the CREATED ORDER to understand that Jesus was ALIVE!
Yet, even after Jesus had stayed with them, worked with them, ate with them, comforted them, and trained them throughout this 40 days, they were still (verses 4 and 7) commanded to wait. Why? They needed to be sure that GOD was leading them. They needed the supernatural presence of God as well as the natural presence of God.
Worse yet, from our perspective, they were told to wait “in Jerusalem.” Note that most of these people were from Galilee. Wouldn’t you expect them to want to express their mourning for Jesus’ death, their loss at Jesus’ leaving to go to heaven by returning to the familiar environs of their own home? Don’t we withdraw within ourselves, return to the familiar and try to make ourselves comfortable when we hurt, when we mourn? Or, if they were going to go back to their normal lives, their businesses were in Galilee. Yet, Jesus ordered them to STICK TOGETHER and WORSHIP TOGETHER in Jerusalem, where the temple was, where the ministry needed to occur.
And even today, I dare say, there have been people who abandoned this church when you were without a pastor. Some might abandon us because we don’t have a building of our own. Some might abandon us because we don’t have a full slate of activities. There will be people who find that it is more comfortable to be at a lakeside on Sunday AM than in worship. There will be people who will want to hold on to the familiar, BUT it isn’t about us. It’s time to worship. Why? Because God wants to bless.
And how is God going to bless? If you have ever read Chapter 2, you know that god wants to bless with Pentecost, the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. Oh, yeah! Pentecost was 50 days after the Passover. Hmm! Luke 22 suggests that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as the Passover meal. If so, that would be the night before Jesus was crucified. The day of the crucifixion would have counted, in Jewish thought, as a full day and night in the grave. So, by Jewish recollection, Jesus would have been in the grave for 3 days and nights (Why? Because of the sign of Jonah, but also because in Jewish thought, it took 3 days and nights for the spirit of the deceased to reach Sheol, the place of the dead--so 3 days = a CERTIFIED death certificate). If our understanding of Luke is correct, that would mean that Passover plus a portion of each of three days in the grave plus 40 days that Jesus showed Himself and taught the disciples would have equaled 43 days. Now, if Pentecost, which came 50 days after Passover, is when the Holy Spirit was to come upon the early church, what does that leave us? It means 50-43 days = 7 days to pray up for Pentecost.
Whoa! Now, I’m excited. 7 is 3 (God who caused to be, God who continues to be, God who will be as well as Father, Son and Spirit) + 4 the created order (as explained before). SO, the disciples pray a symbolic 7 days, the amount of time it would take for God and His creation to be in right relationship. So, the sacred mathematics would indicate that God’s timing is, once again, amazing! Jesus stayed in the grave exactly the amount of time needed to prove He was dead (3). Jesus was with the disciples a sufficient amount of time to prove to those in the physical, created world that He was ALIVE (40). The disciples (now, apostles) prayed continuously for 7 (3+4) days so that they as created beings could know they were in perfect relationship with God the Creator.
Add them together and you get 50 days after Passover, the time Israel celebrated her "new beginning" as a people in the wilderness. What does that mean? God poured out His Spirit on the church as the "New Israel" in absolute perfect timing.
What does all this exotic, symbolic math mean for us? It means we need to wait and pray to make sure we are serving according to God’s timing. Does it mean that God will always answer our prayers in seven days? No way! That symbolic amount of time (3+4), even though it was literal for the apostles on this occasion, reminds us that it is when our world becomes synchronized with God’s plan that miracles, answered prayer and victories in our lives and the world can truly begin.
But that’s not all! The Holy Spirit brings both fire and power. Verse 5 tells us that John baptized with water. Water symbolized the cleansing that took place after one had repented and asked God for forgiveness. But water cleans without transforming. The Holy Ghost was going to dip us into the fire. Fire not only cleanses as its purification process, as when we cook food, but it also transforms by consuming—burning up impurities and refining, tempering, what is precious into something that is stronger or purer. So, the Holy Spirit fire works on God’s people FIRST—purifying and transforming. We cannot expect renewal and revival until we have been changed by God’s Holy Spirit.
And then, the Holy Spirit brings power— power to change, power to explode, power to illuminate, power to build, and power to grow. The Greek word is δυναμις and is sometimes pronounced “DOO-nah-mihs”... and sometimes “DEE-nah-mees.” It is the word from which we get dynamite, dynamo, and dynamic. In the Bible, it wasn’t used for mere strength or force. It was reserved for the inexplicable, the supernatural and the miraculous. And this means that if we are to be the church God wants us to be, the witnesses God intends for us to be, we can’t be explainable. We must be able to show love that can’t be explained, joy that doesn’t make sense, hope that doesn’t seem reasonable, peace that cannot be understood, and patience that seems illogical. We have to confuse the world by being like Jesus so that they ask why and how this can be.
At Pentecost, the very time when the Old Israel was celebrating their “anniversary,” God was forming a New Israel to do what the Old Israel hadn’t been able to do—save the world by reintroducing humanity to its Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer and Purpose. But notice the dangers to Pentecost that the apostles faced. Read verses 9-12.
They could not have Pentecost if they were constantly looking for Jesus’ return. Verse 11 makes it clear that it is possible to be so heavenly minded, so focused on the end, that we are no earthly good, so unfocused on God’s redemptive purpose. It does not mean that they no longer looked for Jesus’ return. They did and we should, too. Jesus could come at any time, but we shouldn’t dwell on it when we have ministry to do. They were wishing Jesus would come back so that it could be just like it had been when they traveled with Him. That’s not good enough. God wants us to strive for more. We cannot have Pentecostal Power if we are constantly focused on either the past or the future. We have to focus on being obedient to God NOW and hoping for His intervention as we prayerfully prepare for it. Don’t look back. Don’t idealize the past so that you say, “It can never be that way again.” It can’t, but because of God’s grace and purpose, it CAN be better. It depends on our level of obedience and faith.
Further, as you reach the end of the chapter (verse 26), they needed to choose someone to replace the disciple they had lost. Now, to some of us, this doesn’t seem like faith. To be sure, they did pray, but then they threw dice. Now, there is a Proverb that reads, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33) To a guy who likes to play board games where you move pieces on the map and fight major battles by rolling a die, this reads: “We throw the dice, but God decides how it lands.” Mind you, I’m not talking about gambling here. What the verse says is that we expect an answer and God provides it. Lots were used throughout Israel’s history to show the will of God. To the New Testament, post-Pentecost church—the Holy Spirit shows God’s will more clearly than any archaic form of inquiry used before Pentecost. But the experience tells us we need to look to God for the answer when filling the offices of the church—not just pastor.
And where does this answer come from? Prayer. Continuous, quality, committed and persistent prayer was necessary and even when they threw the dice, they were seeking God’s answer, God’s confirmation. We have an advantage they didn’t have. We are post-Pentecost in that the Spirit is present in the believers and in the church and we have the written Bible so that we don’t need tools of divination.
Finally,... I want to share one more aspect of spiritual math with you. Note that they wanted to fill out the 12 apostles. Why? It is the divine 3 * the created order 4 = 12. There were 12 tribes of Israel, Ishmael, 12 thrones on each side of God in the vision of Revelation and 12 pearly gates in the New Jerusalem. To have a NEW ISRAEL, there had to be 12 witnesses. AND to be a NEW CHURCH there needed to be at least 120 members, just like in starting a new synagogue in Judaism. Look at verse 15. What happened? God took the 12 of right relationship and multiplied it by the 10 of sufficiency and there were 120 in the upper room. God appeared with a sufficient number to start a new congregation in the midst of the New Israel and on the verge of Pentecost.
I know many of you are experiencing a sense of lack of direction. For some reason or another, you wonder if God can still work in your life and in the life of your church. I know this was an unusual way to approach this text, but I truly believe this is God’s message for you, today. God has entrusted you with the task of winning and discipling the people moving into the new neighborhoods near you. Can you do that without serious prayer? Can you do that without organizing for ministry? Can you do that without a burden for removing the barriers? The disciples were deeply grieved that they had lost Jesus’ presence, but the apostles were devoutly focused on making sure God’s will became reality. Are you?
