As
I have been thinking about these first words and how to live them out in my own
life I have come to realize that this is not easy. Being able to really see Jesus in my life and
then to see him working in the world around me is not easy. Asking people to forgive me and then
forgiving others is not easy. Knowing
that God’s peace is available but won’t take my problems away is not easy. To go into our community or to think about
going into the world to keep doing the work of Jesus is not easy.
This
past week Dick Snyder said to me, I think
God is calling someone from this church to go on a mission trip to Sierra Leone. When I
asked him who, he just smiled and
said, you. I have to tell you, I was immediately
uncomfortable. I laughed and said, I’ll tell you what Chris Ramish told me, I
would be terrified, and then I said, besides
God made it clear that I am not the one to go.
My job is to raise up people and resources to go. But then I had to stop and ask myself – really?
I heard that word more than 5 years ago, what is God saying now? Do I need to think about going into the world
with the love and grace of God? None of
this is easy stuff.
Following
Jesus is not easy and Jesus knew what he was calling us to do and how he was
calling us to live was going to be beyond our ability at times, so the very
last of his first words is one that brings us hope and some encouragement. The final first word from the empty tomb is
POWER and we find it in Acts 1:8a. Jesus said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
This
is the final word of Jesus. After he
says this he ascends into heaven and there are no more words, but a few weeks
later the power of God does come upon the disciples, look at Acts
2:1-4. Until this moment, the
followers of Jesus were struggling to live out his message, but when the power
of the Holy Spirit comes upon them everything changed. They now had the strength and ability to do things
they thought were completely beyond their ability. Their words and lives now revealed Jesus,
they offered a forgiveness so powerful that it brought physical healing to
people and despite their fear and problems, they experienced a divine peace
that moved them forward in life and soon as the power of God filled them they
began to go. It says they immediately
left the house where they were gathered and began to proclaim all what God had
done in Jesus. The power of God gave
them the ability to live out these first words of Jesus.
The
same is true for us today. The power we
need to live the way Jesus calls us to live doesn’t come from the world around
us. The power we need to follow Jesus
doesn’t come from winning the powerball, eating a powerbar,
getting fit by powerwalking or even becoming one of the power
rangers, it comes from God through the Holy Spirit. The kind of power we need to live the life
God calls us to live comes from God himself.
The power to experience peace even when we face overwhelming problems,
the power to forgive and ask others to forgive us and the power to go into all
the world with the love and grace and truth of God isn’t found in this world –
it comes from God and so we need to ask God for it.
The
reason we ask God for this power is because we don’t earn it. This power of God is not for sale, it is a
gift that God gives when our hearts are humbled and our lives are open before Him. There was a man who thought he could buy the
power of the Holy Spirit. His name was
Simon and as he watched Peter and John minister to the people he could see the
power of God flowing through them and he wanted that power. Simon went to Peter and offered him money and
said, “Give me this power.” Peter’s response was harsh, he said, “May
your silver die with you because you thought you could buy this gift of
God. Repent of this wickedness and pray
to the Lord to be forgiven.” Peter’s
makes it clear – God’s power is not for sale, it is a gift. God’s power is not earned, it is a gift God
is willing to give when we humble ourselves and ask. In fact, Jesus said ask and it will be given to you,
seek you will find, knock and the door will opened to you.
What
this means for us is that the power we need to live according to the will of
God is not purchased by giving large offerings to the church, it’s not earned
by doing lots of good deeds in the community and it is not deserved because we
have prayed the right prayers, read the right parts of the Bible or had perfect
attendance in worship. All those things
are good but they don’t move God to give us the power of His Holy Spirit. The power of God comes when we humble ourselves
and come before God with hearts and hands open, empty and eager to receive.
That’s
what the disciples did. Jesus told them
that the power of God would come to them in Jerusalem and so they needed to
wait there until it came, so they waited. They trusted that Jesus’ word was true so they
set aside their own agenda and with open hearts and lives they waited in
Jerusalem until the power of God came. What does it mean for us to wait? What does it mean for us to ask God for His
power and the wait for it to come?
The
first thing it means is that we need to humble ourselves before God and ask for
the power of God to enter our lives.
Waiting means that we have to acknowledge that we can’t live out the
words of Jesus on our own. We need God’s
power and strength to help us. Sometimes
this is the hardest part. Acknowledging
that we can’t do everything on our own is hard for some of us, but it’s true. We need God.
But waiting is not completely passive, we don’t just sit and do nothing
and we don’t just continue on in life as usual, that’s not what the disciples
did.
When
Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem it meant that they couldn’t go
back to their homes and jobs and normal routines. They didn’t live in Jerusalem so things had
to change. For the disciples, waiting
meant living together in community. Waiting
meant that they ate together, prayed together discussed Jesus together, read
scripture together and began dreaming and planned their future together. That’s what we see in Acts 1. The disciples devoted themselves to prayer,
they studying the scriptures together, and even came up with a plan to replace
Judas who had betrayed them. Waiting,
for the disciples, was not passive. It
was not filled with silence as everyone looked to the ground; it was filled
with active passionate hearts and eyes looking to God. This is what our waiting needs to look like today.
God
wants to give us His power so that we can carry on the work of Jesus but God
wants to give this power to people who are eager to receive it. The disciples were eager, they were getting
themselves ready, and they wanted it. God
wants minds searching the scriptures getting ready to see the truth and love of
Jesus, God wants hearts ready to ask for and receive forgiveness, and God wants
hands and feet waiting with eager anticipation to go into the world and do all
that God has for us.
So
waiting means we don’t just look for God’s power to come but we prepare
ourselves to use it when it arrives. It
means we wait with eager anticipation expecting it to come, maybe even to come
today. Is that how we came to worship this
morning? Were we eager and expecting God
to give us his power? Is that how we
wake up on Monday morning or leave work on Friday afternoons, expecting God to
send his power so we can do all God asks us to do in every moment of life? I don’t know about you, but I’m not always
waiting this way. In fact, it seems like
there are very few times I find myself waiting this way and one of the reasons
is because I know that when the power of God enters into my life it means that
things will change.
Life
radically changed for the disciples when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon
them. The first thing the power of God
did was have Peter preach to thousands of people. When the power of God came upon a man named Stephen,
he spoke with such truth and passion that he was stoned by those he
challenged. When the power of God came
upon the religious leader Saul it turned his life around so that he no longer
persecuted Jesus but preached Jesus which meant that he was now the one being
persecuted.
When
the power of God comes upon people, it usually means their lives change. A few years ago at the Leadership Summit we
heard from a woman, Momma Maggie Gorban.
Momma Maggie grew up in an upper middle class family in Egypt and was a
professor at a prestigious university in Cairo.
One Easter during an outreach event through their church, the power of
God came upon her and she gave up her comfortable life in order to reach out to
and rescue the children who lived in the garbage dumps around Cairo. Her life radically changed and it is that kind
of life change that at times keeps me from asking God’s power to enter into my
life.
But
I want to get over that fear and if you want to do the same, we need to
pray. Sometimes it really is that
simple. Maybe before we pray and ask God
for the power of his spirit we need to pray and ask God to prepare us to
receive this life changing spirit. Maybe
that is the pray you need to pray today or this week – if it is we invite you
to use the prayer we have included on the next steps.
If
we are ready for this life changing power of God and it just hasn’t come yet,
then our waiting means continuing to do all that God has already given us. God’s power will come, we just can’t give
up. That’s what God tells us in Hebrews 10:23-25. We not only need to meet together, we need to
encourage one another to keep going knowing that God who has promised us the
power of His spirit will provide it.
Today
there is one very important way we can wait for God to give us His power and
that is to open ourselves up fully to receive that power through Holy
Communion. Like the power of God, this
meal is a gift and all we need to do to receive it is open our hands to take
the bread and cup and open our hearts to receive God’s love given through it. God’s power is part of this meal and today
might be the day we experience that power in a new and fresh way.
Today
might be the day the power of God will open our eyes so that we see just how
much we need God. Today might be the day
the power of God will give us the assurance that we are finally and forever
free and truly forgiven of our sin.
Today might be the day we hear God calling us to live life a different
way. Today can be the day the power of
God comes upon us and changes us forever, it will come when we humble ourselves
and wait before God. So let us wait at
this table and with expectant hearts and lives eager to receive, let us ask God
for his power.
Next Steps
First Words from the
Empty Tomb ~ Power
Jesus promised power to the disciples if they would wait.
Waiting
today means to looking to God in humility
and to keep doing those things we
are already doing.
1. How
do I need to humble myself before
God?
Confess my sin
Seeking and offering forgiveness
Giving
up control and the need to have things my way
2. What
are those things I need to keep doing?
Prayer
Worship
Servicing others
Tithing
Sharing my faith in Christ
3. If
you are not ready for the life
changing power of God, consider praying this prayer this week:
Almighty God, I know
your power will change me inside and out and this causes me fear and
anxiety. At times I am not sure I want
to change and there are parts of my life we both know I struggle to give to you. Forgive me for my fear and insecurity and pride. Forgive me for choosing comfort over courage
and routine over a radical faith.
Prepare me for the gift of your spirit.
Prepare my heart and life to be forever changed by your power. Prepare me, Lord Jesus, and then send me the
gift of God’s power! AMEN
