May 4, 2008

You Will Receive Power

 by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Acts 1:6-14

Opening Illustration Process of getting my first mortgage – when will we be done?

We want quick answers to profound questions. We want to know how long things are going to take.

Questions in the early church – Where is Jesus, and when is he coming back? Christians still ask the same questions.

Luke deals with those questions in story of ascent.

Story takes place after Easter. Many appearances to disciples.

Jesus’ followers are mostly from Galilee – probably wanted to return home. Jesus tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit.

Gathering at the Mount of Olives: followers ask when God will give Israel back to the Israelites as their own sovereign nation.

Jesus says God’s plan is not for them to know. That’s not what they’ve been waiting for.

They must wait in Jerusalem until Holy Spirit empowers them. Then they are to go all over the world, beginning in their own land, and tell people about Jesus.

Jesus begins floating into the air – cloud escorts him into the sky. Standard way for someone to ascend to heaven.

Two angels appear – “Why are you standing there?”

Followers return to Jerusalem – about a half mile away, and join together in prayer.

The names of the 11 apostles are listed. Women are considered an equal part of the group. 11 apostles because Judas died.

Real power of this passage is that this language is the kind of language used by earthly kings and emperors.

When it is used to talk about Jesus, it’s a way of saying, “Yeah, we may feel powerless now, but we know who the real emperor of the world is.”

Let me explain. Birth of Jesus is contrasted to Roman Emperor’s rule. Titles used of Jesus are like titles use to speak of Caesar.

Language in this passage sounds like and emperor’s instructions to his envoys.

For the Christians to claim God as their emperor was dangerous. Instead, they talked about Jesus using the kinds of words used by the emperor. It was sneaky.

Even though Christians believed God was actually sovereign over the Emperor, they didn’t want to challenge the emperor’s authority. They were content to let God do that when Jesus returned.

Christians still hotly debate the question of Jesus’ return. When will it be? What will be the signs that it’s coming?

Most attempts to answer that question have been racist, nationalistic, and have distorted what the Bible says.

Luke reframes the question: What should Christians keep in mind while they’re waiting for the day when they see God face to face?

First, according to Acts, any talk of trying to interpret world events so that we can figure out when Jesus is coming back is misguided. Jesus tells the disciples it isn’t their business to know when. In Matthew 24 Jesus says he doesn’t even know.

Churches that focus on dating second coming have tendency to bring Armageddon on themselves.

Christians who spend time in Bible study trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back most often fear and isolate themselves from the world they are supposed to minister in.

Living Church of God - "Events prophesied in your Bible are now beginning to occur with increasing frequency. In this Work of the living God, we are able to warn you about what is going to happen soon. We are not talking about decades in the future. We are talking about Bible prophecies that will intensify within the next five to 15 years of your life!"

Response by Terry Ratzmann – bring a gun to church and kill 9 people, including himself.

Christians should be patient, unconcerned with these questions, focusing on this life and their calling.

Second, we are still called to follow Jesus’ commission to be his witnesses to the end of the earth.

My game of catch with the Dominican children.

We are called to go all over. Mission board is choosing a different country each month.

Finally, we have to be empowered by God to do so.

In Acts the Holy Spirit comes upon the church – gives them power.

These days we focus on empowerment through participation in the church and educational opportunities.

Empowerment takes time. We have to be patient with ourselves and each other.

Final Illustration.

When is the peace and joy of God's kingdom going to come to this mixed up and violent world? It's not for us to know.

What is for us to know, however, is the foundation for our life of faith until the kingdom comes. Our family of faith is patient. It really doesn’t matter when Christ is coming back. We just need to be ready.

Are we there yet? No. But in the meantime we’re telling everyone we know the good news instead of just staring up into the sky.