In the book Scully, there is a dialogue between Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers and John Scully, who at the time was president of Pepsi. Jobs was attempting to recruit Scully for the top job at Apple and he asked Scully, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”
The Book of Acts is for world changers. Most, if not all of you here tonight sense there is something more to life and just living and dying, more than just moving through the stages from birth to death. The thought of working your entire life so you can retire to a rocking chair is not enough. You know you have an overriding purpose, that there is something significant in your life that you have not yet tapped.
Someone said, speaking of the church, “The problem is that faith has become domesticated to suit our cultural conditioned lives, rather than dramatized as the ultimate purpose which gives meaning and direction to all other secondary loyalties. I am convinced that we are living in an unprecedented time of potential blessing and power and this is Gods appointed hour to liberate the church from being a memorial society to becoming a society of movers.”
This inspires me. I am more than just plowing my way through the garbage of this world to make it to heaven, God has something specific for me to do, a plan for my life, and I have purpose. I want to be part of a society of movers and shakers with the time I have. What about you?
The text tonight gives us a foundation upon which we can build a life of purpose because it shows us how Jesus first gave abilities to the disciples, and then to us, so that we can be powered for real living.
I. The Promise of Jesus
And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which’ he said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Acts 1:4,5
A. Waiting is not Natural for us.
How many of you are naturally good at waiting? I know I am not. With the fast pace of society, we all seem to be in a hurry. Jesus knew human nature. Most people don’t like to sit around waiting. So He told the disciples they needed to wait. It is interesting, He did not tell them how long they would have to wait. We already know from the Gospels what kind of a waiter Peter was. Impulsive, quick with his tongue and his sword. If Jesus had not told them to wait for what the Father promised, Peter would have been out and about, powerless. Just gather in this picture. The disciples had been with the risen Lord Jesus for a period of 40 days. They had people they wanted to get to and explain what they had seen and heard, that Jesus was not dead but that He was risen. Just when they were getting ready to run out and share the good news, Jesus rains on their parade with the word WAIT!
How many of you in your life have discovered the difficulty of waiting? College students know well, and some of us can remember the almost eternal wait for test results to be posted. Waiting for someone who is in surgery seems like the minutes are hours, and the hours days. Waiting for someone to understand what you are saying, or waiting for someone to change seems to take forever as well. In thinking of all these things, I would say the longest wait at times seems to be waiting on the Lord. That takes the longest. God does things in His time not ours, there is no time clock in heaven. So we have to wait, at least if we expect to receive guidance and direction from God, we wait. We wait if we want to be enabled with power from Heaven. Waiting is not something new. Here in Acts, 2,000 years ago, the disciples were told to wait, for it is only by waiting and seeking God they would be able to experience the promise of God, to be filled with power. And so it is also true for us today, they that wait upon the Lord shall soar to new heights. When we are willing to wait, it is at that time we will be met by God.
B. There is a Promise for those who Wait.
Jesus told them if they wait they would receive the gift from the Father. Remember as a child how the night seemed to drag on while you waited to open your Christmas gifts in the morning? But you know while you waited there was something special for you under the tree. When you wait on the Lord, there is always a special gift for you for when you wait on the Lord there is a promise that follows. Jesus knows our every need and there is always a promise of His provision for those needs we have. You might be here in a situation which at the least is difficult to bear. Problems and circumstances swirling about in your life and it seems the darkness blinds you from the light at the end of the tunnel. You might have even questioned God, finding it difficult if not impossible to understand how even He could bring something good out of your life. Perhaps you are just simply confused. You might be here with what seems like a nagging discontent even though everything from all appearance is going well in your life. How many of you can relate or you know what I am talking about? I feel a need to say this to you, the same promise made to the early church Christians is also available to you right now. It is the promise of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Jesus said in John 16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. The disciples has been forewarned by Jesus He was going to go away. He told them this before He was crucified, giving them a promise they could hold onto when the time came, a promise that said, when I am gone, God will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with you. This is a gift the Father sends to all who believe. The moment you ask Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior, you are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within you. It is through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that we know we are connected to God. I know we don’t totally understand this mystery, as believers in Christ, we have the very life of God living within us. This is all because what God promises, God fulfills. The Holy Spirit promised becomes our guide and our resource as we travel throughout life. The Holy Spirit is available to help us through every problem, and is here is make the Word of God come alive in our spirit, to make Jesus real to us. The Holy Spirit is a gift given to all believers enabling us to live a dynamic, exciting, abundant life. I like that!
The promise given to the early church is the same promise we need in the church today. The power of the Holy Spirit. And of course, it is a promise to us. Acts 2:30 The promise if for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. This is indeed a promise for all believers.
II. The Priority of God
Jesus is in His final meeting with His disciples before He ascends into heaven. If you had the opportunity to know moments before your death, in Jesus case, moments before His ascension into heaven, what would you take the time to tell the people who are around you? An emergency room doctor told me after they tell a patient there is little or no hope, most people become preoccupied with the space around the, the concern is for their own life. It is a matter of our personal priorities.
If you would have been one of the disciples and Jesus is telling you He is going away, what questions would you ask? There is a dialogue in verse 6 which reveals the heart of the disciples.
So when they met together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?’
What can we learn from this? I have some thoughts.
A. We need to focus on Jesus Priorities not our own.
How often have we gotten distracted in life failing to see the big picture, but just the space around ourselves? Jesus was speaking to them about a spiritual reality which would change their lives and the lives of multitudes more, and all they could think of in that moment was a temporal kingdom of a physical nature.
Before we come down on them, we need to understand their tradition. The Jews believed the Messiah would come and liberate them from the Roman oppressors. Here, the disciples have standing before them the Messiah. Jesus had been speaking to them about His Kingdom so they undoubtedly saw no reason why the earthly form of His Kingdom could not be established right then.
The Old Testament does not speak explicitly on the second coming of the Messiah. The disciples had been taught that Ezekiel 36 and Joel 2 connect the coming of God’s Kingdom with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the very thing Jesus had just been speaking to them about. It would only be a natural conclusion to see they desired Israel to return to its previous glory, which would involve the overthrow of the Roman government, something they were soon to find out was not part of God’s focus, not part of His plan at that time. God wanted them to anticipate the future.
B. Reverence for the past can sometimes block what God wants to do in the present.
Too often we see churches, and Christians, trying to restore what God has done wonderfully years ago, all the while God is attempting to do something new in their midst. How often I wonder, is the Holy Spirit grieved and the Spirit quenched by well meaning Christians who are unwilling to move forward into the future, because they are unwilling to let go of the past?
C. Learn to Think as God thinks
He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’
Basically, Jesus was telling them that their thinking was flawed. They should not be concerned and worried about the timetables of earthly concerns, they should instead be open to what God was trying to tell them, and what God was trying to do. Jesus was introducing them to a new dimension of living, and they just were not hearing, listening to what He was saying to them.
Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:1,2 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. This is something that is not to be speculated by believers, for God has set the time by His own authority.
Being honest, it is hard for us to change our way of viewing things. Over the years, we have done things a certain way, over the years we have thought certain thoughts about things, and it is hard to change. Preference and prejudice of people die hard, even when those preference and prejudices are wrong. We must never close ourselves off to the new things and new ways God is working. We must always understand, the message never changes, but the methods do. If we as a church are going to remain cutting edge in ministry to our community, if we are going to be used by God for this wave of the Holy Spirit’s moving, we must always be ready to take calculated risks and to try new things for God.
This is not only true for the church, but it is true for us individually. Our main priority must be to hear the voice of God and to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
III. The Power of the Spirit.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Sameria, and to the ends of the earth. Vs. 8.
A. The Promise of the Holy Spirit is a Promise of Power
The Greek word for power is dunamis, from which we get our English word, dynamite or dynamic. The power of God is the dynamic and explosive force in the lives of believers. All believers have in them spiritual dynamite for the use of our spiritual gifts, for the work of service, for being in active fellowship and to be a powerful witness of the truth of Jesus Christ.
B. God gives us power to witness.
What is the purpose of the power given from God? To be a witness. It’s an interesting word, witness in the Greek, martos, from which we get the word martyr. The martyrs of the faith were first those who testified of Jesus even though they knew they were facing the possibility of death for their witness. God calls us to do the same today, not in laying down our lives in the arena with lions attacking us, or being burned at the stake for proclaiming the name of Jesus, although these might be possibilities in some areas of our world. It is laying down our lives in terms of our privacy and schedules, to be available to others in sharing what Christ means to us, and what He can mean to them.
It is not a question as to whether we will be witnesses or not. All Christians are witnesses. The question to be answered is how effective a witness are we? To be an effective witness there needs to not only be an inflow into our lives, but we need to have an outflow, an outlet to share. Lacking an outflow for what Christ has done through us will only lead to stagnation in our Christian life. We will lead dull and dreary lives, devoid of vibrancy no matter how many Bible studies or sermons we have heard.
A free flowing river purifies itself and is alive with life. So also is the Christian who becomes involved with others in sharing the Gospel. That Christian will discover the reason for his or her existence. Being involved in the ministry of a witness is essential to finding the fulfillment we desire as humans. Remember, the Holy Spirit power and gifts are not given to us so that we can spend them on ourselves. You need to give of yourself to others in service to the Kingdom of God. We are called to be personal witnesses.
Jesus commanded all believers to be a witness. Matthew 28:19-20 reads in the Message, Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge; God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.
C. A Geographical Mandate.
1. In Jerusalem.
This is speaking of our own community. It would mean Ballard, Seattle, and Washington state. Our mission begins at home, right were we are living. Never make the mistake of believing that our mission is out there somewhere beyond the deep blue sea. Mission begins at home. If we are not doing our mission outreach first at home, then we are not supporting missions no matter how much we contribute to the foreign mission field. Hell is not less hot for the people who live right here in Seattle that do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Here, at home, is the place to begin for this is our primary mission field.
2. In Judea
This was their country, for us it is America. We have an obligation, no, we have a command, to be a witness in America of the greatness of God.
3. In Sameria
For the early church Sameria was their neighboring countries, for us, it is Canada to the North and Mexico to the south.
4. The remotest parts of the earth
We are called to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ to every corner of the globe, to every people group alive.
This beginning dramatically altered the course of history, and it continues to do so today as well. We have a responsibility for being a witness of Jesus Christ throughout the world. This is the mission of the church until Jesus comes again.
