Acts 1:7-8                    
February 28, 2010

‘Yes’ and ‘no’ are straightforward answers.  If you asked  somebody a question and they responded with either one of those, you’d understand.  You might not like it but you would understand.  But what if you asked somebody a question and they responded, “Nunya?”  Would you have any idea what they meant? I would, now.  But I didn’t the first time I heard it.  You might think they’re speaking a foreign language, an ancient biblical language, perhaps.  But nunya’s not Greek or Hebrew; it’s short for ‘none of your business’.  Basically, that’s how Jesus responded to the disciple’s question in verse five.  “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?”  “It is not for you to know”, Jesus said.  In other words, ‘nunya’.  Peter got pretty much the same response one page back at the end of John’s gospel when he asked Jesus about the fate of another disciple.  Looking over his shoulder he said, “Lord, what about him?”  Nunya.  “If I want him to remain alive until I return”, Jesus said, “what is that to you?”.  You just follow me and let me worry about him.  That’s good advice for all of us, don’t you think?  If we were all more concerned about our own walk with Christ and less concerned about our brother’s walk with Christ, the world be a better place. If not the world, at least the Church.  

There are some things we’re just not meant to know, and the day and hour of Christ’s return is one of them.  We’re better off not knowing.  What if Jesus had answered their  question about His kingdom and when He would set it up?  “Well guys, if you must know, I won’t be returning until at least 2010.”  Might that information have had an adverse effect on their motivation?  When you believe something is imminent it’s easy to maintain a sense of urgency.  But when know it’s more than two thousand years down the road, you tend to take a more laid back attitude.  Why do today what we can put off the rest of our lives?  
The opposite is true in our case.  A definitive answer might be just the motivation we we need.  What if we got word that Jesus was returning exactly one year from today? How would that information change your life?  Would you finally start tithing?  I think you might.  Would you get more involved in a local ministry?  Would you pray more?  Would you spend a little more time in God’s Word?  Would sharing Christ with other people become a higher priority? Of course you would.  After two thousand years, the odds are that Jesus won’t return on February 28, 2011.  But I’ve never been a gambling man.  So I’m going to play it safe and try to live my life like his return is imminent.  And I  would encourage you to do the same.  

The only thing we need to turn the world right-side up for Jesus is  found in verse eight. Essentially, he tells the disciples, “I know you want answers, but I’ve got something far better than that for you....power.”  Last Sunday I said there was a fourth word, in addition to righteousness, peace and joy.  That’s it.  In I Corinthians 4:20 Paul writes, “for the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.”  Notice, Paul uses the exact same formula in that verse that he used in the verse we looked at last week.  He starts with the negative and ends on the positive.  This is what the kingdom of God isn’t--meat, drink, or talk.  It isn’t rules, regulations, restraints, prohibitions, and human traditions.  Neither is it all about words.  Talk is cheap; the kingdom of God is priceless.

At this point some context would be appropriate.  Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth. “It was a Greek city” writes Martyn Lloyd Jones, “and it had many very intelligent citizens.  It happened to be a commercial seaport, but at the same time, like all the cities of Greece, it had it’s academics and it’s porches, the places where they discussed philosophy and tried to understand the problems of life.”  In other words, the ancient Greeks liked to talk.  They loved to talk.  Luke even goes so far as to say that that’s all some of these folks ever did.  Listen. “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there (Athens) spent there time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” In other words, the were too busy moving their lips to lift a finger.  That’s what philosophers do: they talk,they ponder, they turn ideas over and over in their minds until they’ve got it all figured out.  Then they talk about it some more.  Sounds a lot like some of our committee meetings doesn’t it?  Philosophers are a tough crowd.  Paul had his work cut out for him.  How could he convince them that Jesus wasn’t just one great thinker among many, and that faith wasn’t just another intellectual exercise?  Well, he began his sermon by saying, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth.” And he ended it by saying, “for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”  Those two verses have one thing in common...power.  Creating the world and everything in it required power.  And so did raising Jesus from the dead.  

What did Jesus promise the disciples in Acts 1:8?  “But you will receive power...”  Not the the Norman Vincent Peale kind.  Jesus wasn’t talking about the power of positive thinking.  He was talking about resurrection power, the kind that would change the world.  But first, it had to change them.  Did it?  Change them?  Consider Peter, then decide.  A few weeks before the events recorded in Acts 1, Peter saved his life by denying Christ.  But in Acts 2, he not only preached with boldness, Peter defiantly pointed his finger at the very men who had Jesus murdered.  “And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”  A lot of people will come out fighting when they’re backed into a corner.  But that wasn’t the case here.  Peter wasn’t acting defensively, he was on the offensive.  Acts 2:14 says that he “stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say”.  All we have is the written transcript of what he said.  I wish we could hear how he said it.  One thing is for sure; there was no fear in his voice. But there was authority in it, and power.  The Church grew by 3000 people that day.  “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.”  First that power changed Peter.  Then it changed 3000 people.  And from that day until this one, it’s changed countless more.  

We’ll see this word ‘power’ over and over again in the book of Acts.  So let’s look at it for a moment.  The first thing we need to recognize is that all power isn’t equal.  The size of the job determines how much you need.  That’s why the President has a lot more power than the mayor of Tarboro.  He’s got a much bigger job.  That’s why a rocket has more power than an automobile.  It’s got a bigger job.  How much power do you think is required to evangelize the entire world?  That was the disciples’ job. Their mission field extended from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.  The answer to that question lies in the Greek word Luke uses for power in verse eight; it’s ‘dynamis’.  When Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Bernhard Nobel discovered a power stronger than anything the world had known up to that time, he asked one of his Greek friends to help him name it.  “What’s the Greek word for ‘explosive power’”, he asked.  His friend answered, “Dynamis”, as in dynamite.  What Jesus promised his disciples, what Jesus promised us, was the kind of power that shakes things up.  If somebody lit a stick of that stuff on the front steps during a worship service, do you think it would escape our notice? Would we turn and ask it each other, “Did you hear that?”.  No.  Everyone of us would feel the force of that explosion.  It would rock God’s house to the foundation.  Do you see what I’m getting at.  Where the power of God is present, the impact is awesome and undeniable.  That’s all a genuine revival is --the power of God unleashed on a group of his people.  It’s been a long time since some thing like that has happened in this country on a large scale.   The last one started at around 1790 and ended around 1840.  I’d say it’s about time for another one.  

Of course that makes it sound like revival is up to us.  It’s not. But that doesn’t stop us from trying.  New Testament scholar Ajith Fernando makes that point in his commentary on this text.  “It’s easy to get distracted and find security in other things that serve as substitutes to the power of the Spirit.  Excellent programming using the best of modern technology, management techniques, and building facilities can produce impressive results.  Someone once said that 95% of what happens in many evangelical churches could be done without the Holy Spirit.  Many people will come to these churches attracted by the comprehensive program the church offers.  People want a weekly religious dose, and, in our entertainment culture, a church that provides an entertaining program will attract people, just like a good concert or sporting event will attract people.  But Christian ministry is ministry in the Spirit.  Without the Spirit’s power, our excellent programs are ultimately futile.”

The book of Acts covers approximately thirty years.  In that short amount of time the gospel had reached all the way to Rome.  That was the end of the earth in those days.  And remember, there was no internet back then, either.  No public transportation.  No mass media.  No mission sending agencies like we have today.  The Great Commission was a massive undertaking and look who Jesus turned it over to; twelve men who’d never gone anywhere.  They weren’t well traveled; they weren’t well educated, none of them showed any real leadership potential prior to Acts 2, they didn’t work all that well as a team; there was a lot of jealousy and jockeying for position.  Do you really think these guys could have accomplished what they did on their own?  If Jesus hadn’t made good on his promise, and given them the necessary power, they never would got out of the starting gate.

There are no human substitutes for the power of the Spirit.  On our own we can’t begin to make a difference for the kingdom of God.  Because the kind of power we need to get the job done isn’t self-generated.  It doesn’t come from within; it comes from above.   Revival and everything else is God’s work.  All we can do is create the conditions for Him to do it.  And those conditions don’t have anything to do with programming, marketing, business management, or building anything.  I wish it was that easy.  No it has to do with humility, prayer and lot’s of it, seeking God’s face, and turning from our wicked, self-sufficient ways.  Then, if God so chooses, He will display his explosive, life-changing, kingdom-building power.  And by display I don’t mean we’ll be able to see it, like we see a fireworks display.  That’s not how it works.  The power itself is invisible.  God’s Spirit works like the wind.  You remember what Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear it’s sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.  The power itself is invisible but the effects of it are obvious.  I’ve got time to share four or five of the most obvious ones with you.  Effect number one: conviction.  We’ll look at the content of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 in a few weeks.  But this morning I want you to notice the response to it.  This is verse thirty-seven.  “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?”  Then Peter gave them the only correct answer: Repent! And be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.”  All I can do is step on your toes.  But the Holy Spirit will stab you in the heart.  His weapon of choice is a double-edged sword.  That’s happened to me a few times in my life, with the exact same result.  I fell to my knees and wept like a baby.  The first time that happened it was accompanied by a bona fide miracle.  When I stood to my feet I was a different man, or what Paul called a “new creation”.  That expression ‘born again’ has fallen out of favor these days, but it’s the best description of what happened to me that I can think of.  Theologians refer to this second effect of the Holy Spirit as REGENERATION.  But I prefer resurrection.  That’s the analogy Paul uses in Colossians 2:13.  “When you were dead in your sins...God made you alive in Christ.”  I don’t know how one can pass from death to life and not remember it, but more than a few people have told me that was their experience. I hate to say it but I have a sneaking suspicion that some of those folks are still very much dead.  Effect number three goes by the name SANCTIFICATION.  This is a lifelong process by which the Spirit makes a believer increasing like Christ.  I should point out that this process involves a person’s consent and ongoing cooperation.  The moment someone resists the Spirit their spiritual development is arrested...until such time he/or she repents.  That involves confessing your sin, and waving the white flag of surrender.  “God, you win.  Let’s do it your way.”  Who would have thought that the way to victory is through defeat?  Who would have thought that losing could feel so good? (SCC?)

One more and we’ll be done.  But first let’s review.  The Spirit manifests His power in a variety of ways.  He convicts.  He converts.  He changes.  And finally, he compels.  In I Corinthians 9:16 Paul writes, “Yet when I preach the gospel I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach the gospel.” That’s very similar to what Peter and John said in Acts 4:20 after the Sanhedrin commanded them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”, they said.  You can imprison us.  You can beat us silly.  But if you want to shut us up you’re going to have to kill us.” Even before that, Peter and John had made a lasting impression. Luke records the Sandhedrin’s reaction to them in verse thirteen of that same chapter.  “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished.”  And get this... “they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  Even the enemy recognized that Jesus was the explanation for the apostle’s bold behavior and witness.

Let’s be honest.  The Holy Spirit makes a lot of people uncomfortable.  We associate his activity with ecstatic experiences.  But notice what Jesus doesn’t say in Acts 1:8.  He doesn’t say, “You will speak in tongues when the Holy Spirit comes on you.  He didn’t say, “You better have someone ready to catch you when the Holy Spirit comes, because you’re going down.”  What did he say?  Essentially this, “When the Holy Spirit comes, you will receive the power...to witness.  So go ahead and relax.  Nothing weird is going to happen if and when we decide to let the Holy Spirit start running the show.  But we might start telling people about Jesus.  In fact, I know we will; it’s a certainty.  Remember Paul.  “I am compelled to preach”.  Remember Peter and John. “We can’t help talking about what we have seen and heard.”

If this was the first century and we were in that upper room with the disciples ten days prior to Pentecost, our excuses wouldn’t be excuses; “I want to be a witness, but I can’t .  I’m afraid.  I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know how to say it.  Even if I did, I wouldn’t know when to make my move”. Those would all be legitimate reasons for keeping Jesus to ourselves.  But we live on the other side of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit has already come.  The Father and the Son are up there.  But the Holy Spirit is in here, if you’re a Christian.  All that power and it’s just waiting to be tapped.  What a waste.  

Timothy was a naturally timid guy.  Paul had to remind him, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of what...? Power.  And in the very next verse, 2 Timothy 1:8, he added, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord...but join me in suffering for the gospel.  Why? Because the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”  Jesus.  “There is no other name under heaven given to me men by which we must saved.”  Have your friends and family heard it?  Let me ask you this. “How can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  Notice Paul didn’t say, “without someone else preaching to them”.  That’s my job.  But it’s not just my job.  It’s your job too.  You don’t need a seminary degree to share your faith.  All you need is power.  And you know where to get it.