We’ve Got the Power
Acts 1:1-11
Jesus had died. He then lives. He meets with his disciples. He tells them to go to Galilee, and in Matthew 28, Jesus meets them in Galilee and gives them some last instructions.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus says…
• Go and make disciples – not just in Galilee, or Jerusalem, but of all nations.
• Go and baptize them.
• Teach these disciples (everything I have taught you). Teach them the commands I gave you.
• See you later, and remember I am with you always.
Imagine that you are these disciples. You watch Jesus die. You now see Him alive. He gives these incredible overwhelming instructions to go and make disciples of all nations, and Jesus leaves. He is gone.
I have often wondered what these disciples were thinking. How long did they stand there? Who broke the silence and spoke first? What do you even say? Matthew 28 ends. What happens next? – kind of like a movie or TV show that ends and you are left wondering, “What next?” What happens? There are these incredible overwhelming instructions – now what?
For me it feels sort of like receiving this great gift for your birthday. You look at the box and the instructions and you see all that this gift can do. It is amazing. You are so excited, but then you realize there are no batteries included. You don’t have any around the house. There is this overwhelming feeling of what am I going to do? I have this great gift, but how am I going to use it? Now what?
These disciples have been told to do incredible amazing things, but how? How are they going to have the power and energy to do that?
People look for power all the time. How can I get more energy? How can I get more power to get through the day? To be the best athlete?
• Coffee – some need it just to get through the morning – buy specialty coffees
• Red Bull – energy drink – college student/students to study or stay up late
• Jolt
• Mountain Dew
• Powerade - sports
• Exercise
• Candy Bar
• Fruits
• Energy Bar
• Sleep
There is the need to have more energy. The search for power. You read the instructions that Jesus gave his disciples which by the way includes us - if you say you are a Christ Follower, and there can be this feeling of how are we going to do this?
There are three questions that we included on the outline in your worship folder that we might ask.
How? - How can I do it? How can we do it?
How are we going to live out these instructions that Jesus gave us?
In Matthew 28, Matthew just gives us one picture or snap shot of what Jesus said to his disciples. Luke gives us another snap shot in Acts 1. Luke includes some more details that Matthew didn’t include about what Jesus told His disciples and things Jesus did.
Acts 1:1-5
1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
Luke tells us that during the 40 days after Jesus died, He appeared to his followers and proved in many ways that He was alive.
During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3
Jesus proved that He was alive. (1:3)
During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3
Jesus also… Jesus talked to them about the Kingdom of God. (1:3; 6-7)
These disciples had questions about God’s kingdom. We have questions about God’s Kingdom, about Heaven today. When would it come? What would their role be? What is it like? They even thought Jesus as the Messiah would just set up his kingdom right then. (vs. 6 – Are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?) They kept asking him…
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. Acts 1:6-7
They ask him to restore “our” kingdom. It seems as if they are asking Jesus to restore things the way they want. They didn’t understand God’s kingdom and that yes someday God will set up his kingdom for good, and God knows when, but God also wants to work through us to live out His kingdom now.
Jesus talked to them about baptism. (1:5; 8)
• He talked to them about John’s baptism with water. We practice that still today. We watch as people are baptized. They are placed into water which to someone new who sees that for the first time may seem a little strange. It may seem like the person is being pushed under water. Is that person drowning? Baptism with water is an outward sign or a symbol of commitment to Jesus. It is saying to others, “I choose Christ.” Jesus has forgiven me, and I choose to live for Him. It is important because it is a commitment to live differently.
• For some people, the choice to be baptized and experience that has been what they need to really commit and bring about the change they need in their lives.
• Jesus also talked about another baptism. He talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said,
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
• Jesus doesn’t just send them and us out on our own. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus gives us the power to live a transformed life to impact our world.
God’s presence and power is found in the Holy Spirit.
When it comes to the Holy Spirit, there are people who may have heard about the Holy Spirit, but they don’t understand who He is. For many, the Christian life just comes down to “I’m going to just do the best I can, and one day at least there is heaven at the end.” There is no power, no real difference in the person’s life. To an outsider, they see no difference in the person’s lifestyle, thought life, and habits. There is no difference between the Christian and the person who is not a Christian.
That concerns me. It concerns me not just because people fail to live differently. It concerns me because there are people who pray and decide I want Jesus, but they come to this conclusion that it doesn’t work. Often it is because we try to do things our way. We go through the motions of life and try to give Christ our best.
Making a decision to live for Christ is important. Giving or doing your best is important, but you can’t do it on your own. If there was ever a group of people who should have been able to do it on their own, it would have been the ones who walked beside Jesus, saw the miracles, and now they were looking at Him resurrected.
Yet Jesus still knew they need help. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit, and we do too. So there is another question that we need to ask...
Who? - Who is the Holy Spirit?
I think most people would say that the Holy Spirit is the least understood out of the Trinity. It’s ironic, because although the Holy Spirit is the least understood, he is the only God that we know. We weren’t alive when Jesus was alive. We didn’t get to know him, to hear his stories or to see his miracles. And, very few people have EVER had a face to face encounter with God. Yet, we feel as if we have a personal relationship with God the Father and God the Son—and we do! But we are only able to experience this relationship because of our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
In John 16:5-16, Jesus described the Holy Spirit. He said…
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 … 12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ John 16:5-16
If we look closely at this passage, we see that the Holy Spirit is our helper – an advocate. He intercedes for us. He prays for you. He assures us. He is our direct contact/link with God. He is God in us. He convicts us of sin and those around us that we need God’s love. He guides us. He helps us discern what is right and what is wrong. He directs us and warns us.
It is the Holy Spirit living in us that allows us to know God. Jesus left us with the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us overcome and to live differently.
There are examples in Scripture of God’s power through the Holy Spirit…
• In the New Testament, before the Holy Spirit came, the disciples scattered and lived in fear. After the Holy Spirit, these ordinary disciples became fearless and risked everything to spread the news about Jesus.
One example of this new, filled with power living came a couple chapters later in Acts
3. Peter and John were on their way to the temple one afternoon. They came upon a crippled man that always sat out by the gate outside of the temple. This crippled man asked Peter and John for some money. They wanted to help the man, and knew that he needed much more than money. Peter told the crippled man, “I don’t have money, but what I do have I give it to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk.” Peter and John helped the man stand, and Scripture tells us that the man went “walking and leaping and praising God.” Peter and John were filled with God’s power through the Holy Spirit. They were so connected to God through the Spirit that all that they said and did was an extension of God! Because of this, the Good News of Jesus Christ spread and the early Church began.
This Spirit-filled, powerful living isn’t only for the early disciples. Whoever is willing to know God can experience this power, too.
Last week, as a staff we watched a documentary called, Pray the Devil Back to Hell. It was a powerful reminder of how God can use ANYONE who is willing to bring about His Kingdom. This documentary tells the story of a group of women who took a stand for peace. This took place in Liberia a few years ago. A civil war had been raging for years between the dictatorship of the Liberian president and the rebels that wanted to overthrow the government. Both groups of people were terrorizing the people of Liberia. They were taking the boys, brainwashing them, and turning them into soldiers. They were hurting the people and destroying families and villages.
One morning, one woman decided to take a stand for change in the effort to bring about peace. This woman stood up in church and shared her dream to bring Christian women together to start a peace movement. She asks that all women from all churches are brought together. At one meeting, a Muslim woman hears about this plan to pray. She is moved by what they were doing and decided that Muslim women needed to be brought into the Peace Movement. Christian and Muslim women gathered to pray for peace for their country. With this extraordinary mission, the women dressed in plain white clothes and covered their heads, as a way to shed any differences of class or religion among them. They decide to make peace signs and sit in at the fish market where the Liberian president drove past every morning.
For two weeks, the president drives past them and completely ignores them. They are women and they aren’t seen or heard—they didn’t really matter. Even though they are over 2000 people strong, they are ignored. Finally, they are able to present their mission of peace to the president, and they demanded peace talks between the government and the rebels. These women continued to pray and to push these groups until a resolution is signed. The UN peacekeepers were brought in, and the Liberian president was exiled to Nigeria. This group of praying women helped to make sure the resolutions were implemented, and they eventually helped get a woman elected as the first female president.
These women were able to bring about an incredible change for their country! They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and His power at work in their lives brought peace to their country.
The Holy Spirit and His power are available to all who receive Jesus as Lord. God gives the Holy Spirit to help others come to see God in us - to help us know God and to help others know God. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live differently at work, at school, with our friends, with our family. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome temptation, to help us make it through difficult circumstances, and to help us have peace when it seems like the world around us is falling apart.
I wonder what God wants to do with us and through us as we allow the Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives. I wonder what powerful things the Holy Spirit will do through us?
We read about the Holy Spirit. We see him do incredible things in Scripture, but there is another question that I think that if we were honest, many people ask.
Where? - Where is the Holy Spirit?
You read about Him or you hear a story, but where is He in my life today? He must not be working. Maybe God needs to change what he is doing. I want to live for Christ, but I am just not convinced it works. I need help.
We’ve have been watching this terrible environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as 200,000 gallons of oil has been spewing into the ocean each day. It brings up the conversation again about alternative energy, dependence on oil, and the need for other sources of energy.
The search is on…
• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Liquid Hydrogen
• Ethanol
• Electricity
We need alternative energy, and I’m not talking about just for cars. When it comes to living for Christ, we need more that just doing our best. We personally need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. All of us have access to the Power of God at work within our lives. We have access to power that can help us live transformed lives and change our world. But…
The Holy Spirit is a helper not a controller.
He helps but He doesn’t force you to do anything. The Holy Spirit wants to be your personal counselor, helper, and comforter. He wants to guide you, but we must be willing to rely on Him and follow.
We treat God as personal. We talk about a relationship with God because of Jesus. We even talk to Jesus. But when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we sometimes don’t know what to do with Him. He seems mysterious like a ghost. We even want to talk about Him like He isn’t personal by referring to Him as an “it.”
The Holy Spirit is the very person who is our direct contact to God – who leads us to know God, who guides us, who gives us gifts to use in ministry, who teaches us about God and who you are.
When you face a difficult task or an important decision or challenge, don’t rush into things and just hope you will overcome that addiction, that sin, or that struggle. Don’t just hope it all will just work out. Make your first step prayer for the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance in your life.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance in your life.
I believe God still communicates with us. God gives us the power to overcome our fears, to overcome whatever we are facing. But what often gets in the way is that we care more about doing our own thing and getting our own way rather than listening and obeying the Holy Spirit. Maybe what needs to change is our awareness of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
And because He is a helper not a controller, we have to be willing to ask for help. We have to be willing to listen and obey, to surrender our lives and say, “God lead me. I can’t do this on my own. I need you. I’m willing to do what it takes, but I am also going to depend on you to influence my thoughts, my motives, my relationships, my dreams.” – my future. We have to be willing to be aware, and we have to choose to listen and obey.
Choose to listen and obey the Holy Spirit.
We’ve got the power to live a transformed life and to change our world, but we have to be willing to listen and obey and let God’s power work through us.
Stand/Prayer: (forgiveness, overcome, power, live differently, change world)
Song: The Same Power
Send Out:
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.