“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 Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
This Thursday was Ascension Day. It is the day when we remember that Jesus, after proving that he had bodily resurrected from the dead, went to the Father in heaven to take his place at God’s right hand to rule in power. So, we remember the power and authority of Jesus not just over the Kingdom of Israel, but the whole world.
Acts 1:6-14 – Our Mission
Where is Jesus now?
“Where is Jesus now?” is a question I am sometimes asked. People kind of know that Jesus died and rose again, but they are not sure what happened next. If he rose from the dead, then where is he now?
The answer is that he has ascended. That is what we remember on Ascension Day, which was last Thursday and it is what our passage from Acts tells us about. The resurrected Jesus left earth to return to heaven and take up his place at God’s right hand.
That is good news for us now for many reasons. Three are quickly worth pointing out:
Firstly, he is securing our place in God’s Home. Jesus says in John’s gospel:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
Secondly, he is interceding for us
“Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Rom. 8:34)
Jesus died the sacrificial death for us. He is in heaven to present that sacrifice to God and so secure our forgiveness and status as God’s children as well as the help we need day by day in life. He is our man in heaven!
Thirdly, he is ruling for us
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,” (Ephesians 1:22)
Jesus at God’s right hand has the ultimate authority and power. But he uses that power for the sake of his church.
What is Jesus doing among us now?
I regularly write an article for the St. George’s magazine the Lantern, and as Ascension Day falls in May this year, I wrote about what it means for Jesus to be ascended.
Mark Ogden read the article, which is always encouraging, but came back with a gentle question:
“What is Jesus / the Spirit of Jesus doing now on earth and among us?”
It’s a good question and in a sense is one that the book of Acts provides the beginning of an answer to. Indeed, at the start of the book, Luke writes,
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1)
The implication is that what Jesus had done in his life, death and resurrection was only the beginning, the start of something amazing. This second book, is going to talk about what Jesus continues to do on earth in and among his followers.
Indeed, in these opening verses, that seems to be the transition. The disciples first of all ask Jesus the question:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
This question has a few assumptions to it:
First, they think that Jesus’ Kingdom of God project is limited to Israel.
Second, they assume that Jesus’ work is complete, now he can simply restore things to the way they should be.
Third, they seem to assume that they have no role to play in bringing about that restoration.
But, Jesus’ response is first of all to deal with the question directly, by saying they can’t know God’s timings. The full restoration will come when Jesus returns, which the angels later re-assure them will happen, but they and we cannot know when that will be. So, we live between Christ’s first and last coming, the time when in one sense the Kingdom of God is already in place, because Jesus is on his throne in heaven, but in another sense we still await the full restoration, because we live in a world still full of sin, evil and death.
Jesus also challenges their assumptions. In verse 8, he says two times, this is what you are going to do, they now have a role to play in advancing the Kingdom of God. This, however, is also Jesus’ continuing work, they will do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus will send from heaven. Finally, this work is not limited to Israel, it is to go beyond Israel to the ends of the Earth!
Stop Staring, Start Sharing…
Perhaps linked to this challenge is what happens, when Jesus does ascend into heaven. He disappears before their eyes as he rises up from them and is obscured by a cloud. So, they are left staring.
We too can be so amazed by Jesus and what he has achieved and who he is, that we are left simply staring at his glory in wonder and awe. We can be so caught up in studying Jesus and finding out about him – which is all necessary and good – that we forget that God has a job for us to do.
Like the disciples, perhaps we too need to heed the words of the angels: “Why do you stand looking into the sky?” It’s a kind of comical question and its implication is stop staring and start sharing. Stop meditating on who Jesus is and start doing what Jesus wants!
So, how are we to stop sharing and start sharing? Can I suggest three points that I think arise out of the passage?
Share in Power of the Spirit – vs. 8a
In verse 8, Jesus is clear that they will receive power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes on them. We can often feel powerless as Christians. Powerless, because we seem to be such a small group in the face of a world that seems not to care about Christ, powerless because we feel the pressures of trying to just keep the church on the road, powerless because we are so aware of the limitations of our own talents and abilities.
But this was all true for the first disciples. Luke tells us that the core community of Jesus followers in Jerusalem was just 120 people. Few if any were wealthy, few if any were carefully trained, few if any had any real influence in the world. Yet, in time, from that small seed, the mighty Roman Empire was converted from paganism to Christianity and the good news of Jesus spread around the world. How was that possible? The power of the Holy Spirit.
So, the same is true for us. It is very easy to focus on our limitations and to give up on doing anything for Christ. It is easier to sit back and stare at Christian YouTube videos or just come to church and enjoy the service. But, God wants to share his power with us by the Holy Spirit, to enable us to play our part in growing his Kingdom.
The parts we play as individuals will of course all be different. And one of the things it is always good to do at the time of Annual Meetings is to celebrate the many different ways people help serve in our churches, whether it is by being elected to the PCC or teaching in Sunday School, leading a life group, serving tea and coffee, or just coming and encouraging one another, and inviting others to come to church, all these are important ways of serving, which we need the power of the Holy Spirit to do.
So, let’s be people that stop staring and start sharing.
Share in Proclamation to the World – vs. 8b
The second point, is that Jesus says their role is to be witnesses first in Jerusalem, then in Samarian and then to the ends of the earth. This gives us an outline of the structure of the book of Acts. The first few chapters are about the church growing in Jerusalem as more and more people believe the proclamation of the apostles about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then the message spreads to Samaria, initially through Philip, then it starts spreading all over the place, with the books focus being on the work of Paul in spreading the word, eventually to Rome itself.
However, other traditions tells us that Thomas one of the Twelve, actually travelled as far as Southern India and shared the good news of Jesus there!
Our role may not be to travel far, but we are called to help proclaim the good news about Jesus as far and wide as we can. Within this congregation there is a wide network of contacts. People you can invite to services, others God may give opportunities to talk to about your own faith and why it matters to you, others who may be open to finding out more. Let’s not beat ourselves up by our failure to proclaim the word, but let’s pray that God may open our eyes to see the opportunities that we might otherwise miss.
Although, much of our vision and planning can be taken up with discussions with what to do about our buildings, our ultimate aim, and the ultimate purpose for our buildings, must always be to provide opportunities for more people to come and discover the good news about Jesus. That is why our buildings were built in the first place. That is why our key aims are not just around developing and selling buildings, but about growing new worshipping communities, so we can reach more people with the gospel and developing our youth work, so that the next generation can hear the good news as well.
Will you stop staring and start sharing in proclaiming the good news about Jesus?
Share in Prayer together – vs. 14
So, that is what Jesus says he wants them to do. But what do they do first while they wait for the Spirit to come? They pray together.
Jesus had modelled prayer to them. Jesus did not rush into ministry, he spent forty days in the wilderness, no doubt to pray. Before choosing the Twelve, he prayed. When things were going well, he prayed that he might stay focussed on the correct mission.
So, as the disciples are faced with this enormous task, their first instinct is to pray.
But, notice they pray together. And by together, I mean groups that had been apart in the past came together to pray. Verse 14 tells us that Jesus’ disciples prayed alongside Jesus’ brothers. We do not hear much about Jesus’ brothers, but during his ministry, they were often critical of how Jesus was going about things and they were certainly a distinct and separate group to Jesus’ disciples.
Yet, from 1 Corinthians 15, we know that the resurrected Jesus also appeared to Jesus’ brother James, and from later in Acts, we know that James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and his voice played a key role in some of the important decisions made by the early church.
What had been two distinct groups of people loyal to Jesus in different ways, were now working together. In particular, they were sharing in prayer together.
As we look for St. Luke’s and St. George’s to work more closely together in our Dare to Share vision, we are aware that we are two distinct groups, with different ways of approaching the worship of Jesus. Yet, we are all loyal to the same Christ and we are together called to be God’s light in Ramsgate. So, let’s express that by praying together.
One of the best blessings of the last year has been the development of the Dare to Pray prayer meeting which happens on the third Saturday of every month at St. George’s. We met yesterday. The number of people there varies between half a dozen and fifteen, but there is always a mixture of people from St. Luke’s and St. George’s and the prayers have I believe really helped us as we move forward together as churches. We also share together what we think God maybe saying to us.
So, why not make praying together, especially with other Christians locally a key part of your commitment to the life of the church. Join us next month. Or why not come and join with an even wider group of Christians from around Ramsgate at the Churches Together Pentecost Service at the Royal Harbour Upper Site next Sunday evening?
Will you stop staring and start sharing in prayer with Christians from different groups?
Stop Staring, start sharing
So, will you stop seeing Christianity as an interesting thing to stare at and start sharing in Christ’s continuing work today. Will you dare to share in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the proclamation of the gospel and in praying together with others?
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 