Scripture: Acts 1:3-11
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab.
Can you put yourself in that story on that hilltop? You’re standing on a hillside, talking with Jesus, the miracle working man who you lived with these past three years. He retaught you about everything in your Holy Scriptures and gave you new understanding of them, and great hope that he is the true Messiah whose life would change the world for the good and forever.
You’re standing there, with this amazing man who was betrayed six weeks earlier. He was arrested by his enemies, tortured and crucified. You know he died. You personally grieved this terrible, tragic, unfair and unjust loss for two and half days. All hope was lost! Then, the ladies came running back from the tomb where he was laid and surprised you with the shocking news that he was gone. And soon, one of them says she saw him alive again! Then, he came to you himself, so you know and believe that he who was crucified and dead and buried has risen from the dead in a great victory over sin and death! That man has now been with you off and on for 40 days, and you love being with him. He is your leader in every way, and you want to be a faithful follower.
That’s why you nodded your head in agreement when one of them asked for orders. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” That’s basically asking, “What happens next? How do we carry on with the mission? We’ve been taking it easy and celebrating your resurrection, and that’s great, but, what are you going to do now? What are we supposed to do next?” I mean, can you imagine what these guys were thinking? Jesus can feed 5000 people with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. That’s a never-ending food supply to feed and army and keep them strong, with no concern for supply lines. If any soldiers get wounded, Jesus can heal them! If any die, he can even raise them from the dead and put them back on the front lines. What a fierce and fearless army they could have been! Victory over the Romans would be easy! Let’s go Jesus!
And Jesus basically says, “Nope. I’m not going to tell you when or how. The mission now is not what you’re thinking it is. There isn’t going to be any military conquest at this time. We’re not going to raise an army against the Romans. All you have to do is talk about me.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and” what are you going to do with that power? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The power Jesus is talking about here is simply staying power, endurance, wisdom, boldness, and memory to stick to the truth about Jesus as recorded in Scripture and as they saw with their own eyes. He was going to send them behind enemy lines as emissaries of peace, not as foot soldiers of conquest. It would still be a dangerous mission.
But nothing will be able to stop them from talking about Jesus, that power is what the Holy Spirit gives. Yes, they will also have power and authority to provide some healing miracles too. But Jesus didn’t tell them anything other than, “You will be my witnesses.” And “You will spread this news about me far beyond Jerusalem and Israel.” He didn’t even tell them exactly when this baptism in the Holy Spirit would occur or how it would look or feel. He just told them to wait for it because he knew they would know when it did come
He just assured them that this was going to happen next. Then he just lifted off, as if in an invisible elevator! He’s heading up into the sky like a helium balloon, and just like kids who notice a helium balloon rising, these disciples watched and watched as Jesus grew smaller and smaller in their perspective, until they just couldn’t see him anymore, and still they kept staring into the sky! We all know, what goes up must come down! So they waited and watched.
Then suddenly a new voice spoke, “Hey, guys, what are you doing?” They didn’t see this angel show up. They were too intently looking after Jesus. So, I bet they all jumped at the sound of his voice, wouldn’t you if someone sneaked up on you while you were looking a different direction? And when they looked, there were two of them!
And we are told they are angels, who ask, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” It’s time to go home boys. You heard what Jesus said. The Holy Spirit will come soon to give you the power you need for the next part of the mission.
Now if I was there, I might have had a question like, “But Jesus said he would be with us always! Now how can he do that from up there?” Of course, nobody asked that question so we can only guess what the angel might have said. My best guess is that he would have quoted Jesus when he said, “Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” That’s in John 16:7. It is through and by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is with us always.
Okay. That was then. This is now. If you were really on that hill that day as one of the disciples and saw Jesus lifted up from the earth that way, it would have definitely had a profound impact on your life. You would have stayed with the disciples and waited for the Holy Spirit because that’s all you had to go on. Next week, we’ll talk about Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured out and the witnesses started really witnessing!
But again, that was then. This is now. Where is the Holy Spirit today? Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Have you received the power to be his witness? Are you on the mission of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth? Does it burn within you, this desire to tell someone about the gospel so that maybe they’ll believe? Or is it different for you? Is it different today? Has the mission changed? Has the great commission been cancelled because we have enough churches around here already? According to the Word of God, every living Christian person has been given, or can realize they have been given, power to live, power to give, power to be true witnesses to the Christ who is alive in us.
Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses.” He did not say, you might be. He did not say I’d like you to. He did not say I hope you do. Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses.” That’s just what happens when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our Jerusalem is our own back yard. Lake City is Jerusalem to us. This is where we are home based. When the disciples talked about Jesus in Jerusalem, it wasn’t easy just because it was their home turf. There was spiritual opposition to this message. They had to face down the Pharisees and they got arrested for being so bold.
And still today, there is spiritual opposition to our message. People don’t want to hear about Jesus who forgives their sins. They don’t think they’re that bad. They want to hear about Jesus who loves you just the way you are. They want to think they’re ok and good enough, well behaved people who need acceptance, not a savior. They don’t want any talk about sin and judgement.
So yes, be nice. Be loving and kind. But if you ever get a chance to preach the true gospel the full gospel that calls people to admit they’re too sinful to make it to heaven on their own, and that they need to repent of even thinking they’re not that bad, you’re going to face some rejection and opposition to that.
I heard Pastor Jeff’s sermon from last week. I listened to the CD. I was glad he talked about the spiritual blindness in the world around us, and our authority in Christ to pray for the eyes of unbelievers to be opened to the real true gospel, and so that their ears can really hear the truth that sets them free. That bears repeating! People who are not saved are blind. They can’t open their eyes. Only God can. We must pray for the people that are perishing.
Our prayers can sound like this: Lord in the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name, through the power of Jesus Christ, take that veil from this person’s eyes. They have been blinded by satan, the temporary god of this world, and I pray that you take that veil off so they can hear the gospel. Pride must go. Self-centeredness must go. May the person I am praying for be given a softened heart, Oh Lord, and ears to hear the truth that sets them free. Pray that in Jesus’ name. It is his will. It is what he wants for all people.
So pray for people you know, by name. You know some of them as your neighbors and co-workers, even family members who do not yet believe. Love them by praying for them to be able to hear the gospel when God gives you an opportunity to share it. So then also, pray for yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you are bold enough to share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus told us about our role in the spiritual battle when he said the Church will be built on a rock and the "gates" of Hades will not overcome it. Gates are a defensive part of the wall of a fortress. Gates are the focal point of an army laying siege to a city that is on the defensive. Hades is holed up. The Church is on the attack! This does call for boldness! And we have reason to rejoice in a good hope! In Christ, the victory is surely ours!
We are witnesses of this. All we’re doing is talking about what we know. We shed light on the darkness of falsehood by telling the truth about God and the word we use is God’s Word, sharper than any two-edged sword. And 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 adds, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We’re motivated by love for the lost, energized by the life of Christ in us. As Paul says in Ephesians 1:18-23, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
So, since Jesus hasn’t come back yet, in the same way that he left, we’re still on mission. Just like the angels said to the disciples on that first day. This is no time be standing around doing nothing. In Bible language that’s, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Receive the power from on high that is given in the Holy Spirit and you will be Jesus’ witnesses today, still today we must speak the gospel as we seek the lost.
So, let us pray, Lord, what do we really believe with our lives? Do we act on the basis of our faith in who you are? You are the Mighty Savior, Conqueror of Death, Savior of the World, Blessed Messiah, Author of the Gospel! Make us bold, Lord, and show us what it looks like in our world, to pray for the lost as if it’s a matter of life and death, because it is! Now, Lord we come to this holy table of the Lord’s supper, to remember all you have done for us, all that it means for us today and all that you will do when you come again. Refresh us in your Holy presence. Strengthen us to proclaim the gospel with authority as your ambassadors, offering the ministry of reconciliation and letting you use us to make your appeal for others to be reconciled to You, Oh Lord, who loves the whole world. We want to see the veil of spiritual blindness removed from sinners' vision, captives of satan set free from his deadly grip, and dead people rise to new life in Christ! Oh, use us Lord! In Jesus' mighty name, amen!
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab.
Can you put yourself in that story on that hilltop? You’re standing on a hillside, talking with Jesus, the miracle working man who you lived with these past three years. He retaught you about everything in your Holy Scriptures and gave you new understanding of them, and great hope that he is the true Messiah whose life would change the world for the good and forever.
You’re standing there, with this amazing man who was betrayed six weeks earlier. He was arrested by his enemies, tortured and crucified. You know he died. You personally grieved this terrible, tragic, unfair and unjust loss for two and half days. All hope was lost! Then, the ladies came running back from the tomb where he was laid and surprised you with the shocking news that he was gone. And soon, one of them says she saw him alive again! Then, he came to you himself, so you know and believe that he who was crucified and dead and buried has risen from the dead in a great victory over sin and death! That man has now been with you off and on for 40 days, and you love being with him. He is your leader in every way, and you want to be a faithful follower.
That’s why you nodded your head in agreement when one of them asked for orders. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” That’s basically asking, “What happens next? How do we carry on with the mission? We’ve been taking it easy and celebrating your resurrection, and that’s great, but, what are you going to do now? What are we supposed to do next?” I mean, can you imagine what these guys were thinking? Jesus can feed 5000 people with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. That’s a never-ending food supply to feed and army and keep them strong, with no concern for supply lines. If any soldiers get wounded, Jesus can heal them! If any die, he can even raise them from the dead and put them back on the front lines. What a fierce and fearless army they could have been! Victory over the Romans would be easy! Let’s go Jesus!
And Jesus basically says, “Nope. I’m not going to tell you when or how. The mission now is not what you’re thinking it is. There isn’t going to be any military conquest at this time. We’re not going to raise an army against the Romans. All you have to do is talk about me.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and” what are you going to do with that power? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The power Jesus is talking about here is simply staying power, endurance, wisdom, boldness, and memory to stick to the truth about Jesus as recorded in Scripture and as they saw with their own eyes. He was going to send them behind enemy lines as emissaries of peace, not as foot soldiers of conquest. It would still be a dangerous mission.
But nothing will be able to stop them from talking about Jesus, that power is what the Holy Spirit gives. Yes, they will also have power and authority to provide some healing miracles too. But Jesus didn’t tell them anything other than, “You will be my witnesses.” And “You will spread this news about me far beyond Jerusalem and Israel.” He didn’t even tell them exactly when this baptism in the Holy Spirit would occur or how it would look or feel. He just told them to wait for it because he knew they would know when it did come
He just assured them that this was going to happen next. Then he just lifted off, as if in an invisible elevator! He’s heading up into the sky like a helium balloon, and just like kids who notice a helium balloon rising, these disciples watched and watched as Jesus grew smaller and smaller in their perspective, until they just couldn’t see him anymore, and still they kept staring into the sky! We all know, what goes up must come down! So they waited and watched.
Then suddenly a new voice spoke, “Hey, guys, what are you doing?” They didn’t see this angel show up. They were too intently looking after Jesus. So, I bet they all jumped at the sound of his voice, wouldn’t you if someone sneaked up on you while you were looking a different direction? And when they looked, there were two of them!
And we are told they are angels, who ask, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” It’s time to go home boys. You heard what Jesus said. The Holy Spirit will come soon to give you the power you need for the next part of the mission.
Now if I was there, I might have had a question like, “But Jesus said he would be with us always! Now how can he do that from up there?” Of course, nobody asked that question so we can only guess what the angel might have said. My best guess is that he would have quoted Jesus when he said, “Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” That’s in John 16:7. It is through and by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is with us always.
Okay. That was then. This is now. If you were really on that hill that day as one of the disciples and saw Jesus lifted up from the earth that way, it would have definitely had a profound impact on your life. You would have stayed with the disciples and waited for the Holy Spirit because that’s all you had to go on. Next week, we’ll talk about Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured out and the witnesses started really witnessing!
But again, that was then. This is now. Where is the Holy Spirit today? Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Have you received the power to be his witness? Are you on the mission of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth? Does it burn within you, this desire to tell someone about the gospel so that maybe they’ll believe? Or is it different for you? Is it different today? Has the mission changed? Has the great commission been cancelled because we have enough churches around here already? According to the Word of God, every living Christian person has been given, or can realize they have been given, power to live, power to give, power to be true witnesses to the Christ who is alive in us.
Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses.” He did not say, you might be. He did not say I’d like you to. He did not say I hope you do. Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses.” That’s just what happens when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our Jerusalem is our own back yard. Lake City is Jerusalem to us. This is where we are home based. When the disciples talked about Jesus in Jerusalem, it wasn’t easy just because it was their home turf. There was spiritual opposition to this message. They had to face down the Pharisees and they got arrested for being so bold.
And still today, there is spiritual opposition to our message. People don’t want to hear about Jesus who forgives their sins. They don’t think they’re that bad. They want to hear about Jesus who loves you just the way you are. They want to think they’re ok and good enough, well behaved people who need acceptance, not a savior. They don’t want any talk about sin and judgement.
So yes, be nice. Be loving and kind. But if you ever get a chance to preach the true gospel the full gospel that calls people to admit they’re too sinful to make it to heaven on their own, and that they need to repent of even thinking they’re not that bad, you’re going to face some rejection and opposition to that.
I heard Pastor Jeff’s sermon from last week. I listened to the CD. I was glad he talked about the spiritual blindness in the world around us, and our authority in Christ to pray for the eyes of unbelievers to be opened to the real true gospel, and so that their ears can really hear the truth that sets them free. That bears repeating! People who are not saved are blind. They can’t open their eyes. Only God can. We must pray for the people that are perishing.
Our prayers can sound like this: Lord in the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name, through the power of Jesus Christ, take that veil from this person’s eyes. They have been blinded by satan, the temporary god of this world, and I pray that you take that veil off so they can hear the gospel. Pride must go. Self-centeredness must go. May the person I am praying for be given a softened heart, Oh Lord, and ears to hear the truth that sets them free. Pray that in Jesus’ name. It is his will. It is what he wants for all people.
So pray for people you know, by name. You know some of them as your neighbors and co-workers, even family members who do not yet believe. Love them by praying for them to be able to hear the gospel when God gives you an opportunity to share it. So then also, pray for yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you are bold enough to share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus told us about our role in the spiritual battle when he said the Church will be built on a rock and the "gates" of Hades will not overcome it. Gates are a defensive part of the wall of a fortress. Gates are the focal point of an army laying siege to a city that is on the defensive. Hades is holed up. The Church is on the attack! This does call for boldness! And we have reason to rejoice in a good hope! In Christ, the victory is surely ours!
We are witnesses of this. All we’re doing is talking about what we know. We shed light on the darkness of falsehood by telling the truth about God and the word we use is God’s Word, sharper than any two-edged sword. And 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 adds, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We’re motivated by love for the lost, energized by the life of Christ in us. As Paul says in Ephesians 1:18-23, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
So, since Jesus hasn’t come back yet, in the same way that he left, we’re still on mission. Just like the angels said to the disciples on that first day. This is no time be standing around doing nothing. In Bible language that’s, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Receive the power from on high that is given in the Holy Spirit and you will be Jesus’ witnesses today, still today we must speak the gospel as we seek the lost.
So, let us pray, Lord, what do we really believe with our lives? Do we act on the basis of our faith in who you are? You are the Mighty Savior, Conqueror of Death, Savior of the World, Blessed Messiah, Author of the Gospel! Make us bold, Lord, and show us what it looks like in our world, to pray for the lost as if it’s a matter of life and death, because it is! Now, Lord we come to this holy table of the Lord’s supper, to remember all you have done for us, all that it means for us today and all that you will do when you come again. Refresh us in your Holy presence. Strengthen us to proclaim the gospel with authority as your ambassadors, offering the ministry of reconciliation and letting you use us to make your appeal for others to be reconciled to You, Oh Lord, who loves the whole world. We want to see the veil of spiritual blindness removed from sinners' vision, captives of satan set free from his deadly grip, and dead people rise to new life in Christ! Oh, use us Lord! In Jesus' mighty name, amen!
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