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December 13, 2020
Jason Meyer (Downtown Campus) | Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”—Acts 1:8
Outline
Introduction
Conclusion: The Power of the Holy Spirit for Witness
Introduction
This is the third Sunday of Advent. Let’s take a moment to summarize what we have seen thus far. Advent means “coming.” It is a time in which we celebrate the first advent and anticipate the second advent of Christ. But what do we do with this in-between time? On the one hand, we have three places we look. We (1) look back (remember and celebrate the first advent), (2) look around (all the things that make us mourn), and (3) look ahead (anticipate the second advent).
Overall Structure of This Section of Acts
This structure reminds us that the Gospel of Luke is the first coming of Christ (vv. 1–3). The last part of our passage features the ascension of Christ and the promise of his second coming. Smack dab between them is the reason we are still here: the commission of Christ (vv. 4–8).
These four weeks of Advent we will look more deeply into four things:
Our text this morning in verse 8 helps us expand our vision as we look back, look around, and look ahead. When we look around, we do not just see all that is broken and all the people who are lost and lament it all. We do not just throw up our hands and wail. We lift up our voices and witness. The good news of this text is that the commission is actually a series of two promises, plus an explanation of the sphere of where those promises will take shape.
Let us work our way from the disciples’ question to where we are in verse 8. In verse 6, we have a question about the kingdom. In the first sermon of Advent, we noted that this question actually makes perfect sense if we are steeped in the expectations of the Old Testament. Think about it this way. Jesus has essentially taught them two things in the previous passage: the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3) and the Spirit of God (Acts 1:4–5). It would be natural for the disciples to put those two topics together as part of the Old Testament hope that the Spirit would be poured out in the latter days, the people of God would be restored, the reign of God through the great messianic Day of the Lord would begin, and Israel would be restored to its former glory in the days of the monarchy of David and Solomon.
But Jesus needed to get out his red pen and correct every part of the question. They do not really understand the verb restore, the noun Israel, or the adverb at this time.
We saw in verse 7 that Jesus corrected their understanding of “at this time”—or the timing of the kingdom—by declaring that the timing is not for them to know, but is fixed by the Father alone. He mercifully takes it off their plate so that they can focus elsewhere.
Today, we get to see where the focus should be.
Main Point: Jesus gives his disciples power to be his witnesses by his Spirit so that his kingdom will reach to the very ends of the earth.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Everything in verses 1–7 have all been leading up to this point. These disciples had already received the direct call of Jesus to be his disciples. They were chosen and authorized! They had heard the teaching of Jesus. They had seen the miracles of Jesus. They had received training from Jesus and had been sent out on mission from Jesus. They had witnessed the death of Jesus. They had undeniably experienced the resurrection of Jesus proven through the appearances of Jesus. You would think they would be ready. But he tells them to wait. Why? What do they lack? They lack power. How will they get this power?
The power is connected to a person: the Third Person of the Blessed Holy Trinity. You have had my presence with you. But now this will be even better. The very person of the Holy Spirit will come upon you. That is why you will have power. You can never untangle the power from the person. They will not receive power without the coming of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the empowering presence of God. Jesus spoke of the baptism of the Spirit. He spoke of being clothed with power from on high. These are all expressions of the Spirit. Divine power is received from the divine visitation of the Spirit.
The first point we see is that this power is connected to a person. The second thing we see is that this promise is connected to a task.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
The power is directly connected to the task of being Christ’s witnesses. We are going to be talking later about reasons why we often fail to be witnesses for Christ. One answer that many give is a fear of being asked something that they cannot answer. What if they ask me about the age of the earth or the Nephilim or the sealing of the 144,000 in Revelation? Number one, most people you witness to will have never heard of the Nephilim. But more importantly, witnesses are called to the witness stand to declare the things that they know—not what they don’t know.
We are in the position of being like the demoniac in Mark 5. Jesus healed him and he did not tell the man to go and debate and write a dissertation. Jesus’ words to the demoniac were, “Go, tell your family what great things the Lord has done for you.” Witnessing is not just something we do; it is first something that we are.
A church which is not actively propagating the truth, witnessing to it and concerned about the lost, is unworthy of the name of the church of Jesus Christ.—Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: God's Sovereign Purpose
3) The Sphere of the Promise: To the Ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8b)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jesus gives them a road map not only in terms of what they will do, but where they will go. They will start in Jerusalem. They will be his witnesses there (Acts 1–7). But it will not stop there. They will also be his witnesses in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8–12). But it will not stop there. They will even be his witnesses to the very ends of the earth (Acts 13–28). This is really a road map for the rest of Acts.
And where did this idea originate? Did Jesus make it up? Friends, Isaiah has something to say! In football, a coach has a play book and they run plays out of it. Isaiah is like the play book for the New Testament. In Isaiah 32, the prophet foretells the desolation of Israel. No one really believes that judgment is coming. Israel is such a fruitful field and prosperous place. But judgment will come. And Israel will be in desolation. How long will the desolation last? Isaiah answers:
For the palace is forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
a joy of wild donkeys,
a pasture of flocks;
until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.—Isaiah 32:14–15
The Servant is coming (Isaiah 42). God delights in him and God’s Spirit will rest upon him (42:1). He will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a faintly smoking flax (42:3). He will bring justice (42:3–4). He will also not grow discouraged or weary, and he will not rest until his work is done (42:4). He will be a covenant for the people and a light for the nations (42:6).
And when the Servant comes, there will be a renewed people with a mission to be his witnesses. Listen to Isaiah 43. The nations will gather. They will have questions that will rise up and there will be a need for witnesses (43:9). In response, God says,
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and I am God.”—Isaiah 43:10–12
This is exactly what the Father said to his Son, the Servant, in Isaiah 49.
He says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”—Isaiah 49:6
Do not miss the transition here from the Gospels to Acts. Jesus can say, “As the Father sent me, so now I am sending you.” Jesus was anointed with the Spirit (Luke 3:21–22, 4:18–21; cf. Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1–2). Now he promises that they will continue his work as they are empowered by the same Spirit so that they come to share in the ministry of the Servant.
How else do you explain Acts 13?
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.—Acts 13:46–49
The Servant of the Lord calls his disciples and empowers them to be servants like him. That is why the apostle Paul can quote Isaiah 49 with reference to his own work. These are the Acts of Jesus. The Servant of the Lord continues his work through his servants.
Now let us go back and observe something significant about both geography and culture in this verse. Notice that they will start in a place where they are comfortable. They will speak to their own people—geographically near and culturally near. Then they will go to Judea. Geographically still near, but also still culturally near. Then they will have to go to the Samaritans. There were big racial and cultural barriers that the gospel would have to tear down. They are geographically near, but culturally far. Then they must go to the Gentiles and the ends of the earth: geographically far and culturally far.
We are called to share the gospel here in the Twin Cities as our Jerusalem. There will be friends and family and those that feel like a natural bridge for us. Do not sidestep the mission by failing to go to those that may feel more culturally unlike you than like you. The barriers that prejudice puts up need to be torn down by the gospel. They are in the same position as you. God is our Creator and we are all made in his image, so we declare that all humans have equal dignity and worth in his sight. God is also their Judge and our Judge. Therefore, Christianity can declare that every culture and race stands equally condemned before the Judge because of sin. Because Christ died for every tribe and tongue and nation, no one is beyond the reach of salvation. It is only in his name.
Transition: Acts as a New Conquest Narrative
But Acts does not just draw from Isaiah. What book in the Old Testament does Acts most resemble? The answer is Joshua. Acts is a new conquest narrative. In the Old Testament, it begins with a foundational story (the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses) with the 12 tribes of Israel and the need for a conquest. Joshua is the book that answers that call. The New Testament begins with a foundational story—indeed a fulfillment story (the four Gospels)—and a need for conquest. Acts is the book that answers that call. Joshua is a conquest narrative in which the 12 tribes of Israel conquer the Gentile nations with a physical sword. The book of Acts has the 12 disciples as a reconstituted Israel conquering with the sword of the Spirit: the word of God. Luke has many different ways of documenting the Word’s conquest.
This time the conquest of the nations comes by the word of God (the sword of the Spirit), not the physical sword. The disciples do not bring bloodshed upon humanity because their message is that the blood has already been shed for the redemption of the nations. As Jesus suffered rejection and death to accomplish redemption in the Gospels, his disciples suffer similarly in Acts so that this redemption may be applied to the nations by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts does not simply attribute the spread of the gospel to the power of the Spirit. It is vitally important to note that Acts follows the rest of the Scriptures in linking both the Spirit of God and the word of God. In what follows, I will highlight three ways Luke makes this point.
First, Luke uses summary statements of spreading at key places in the narrative that stand out to the reader. These statements follow the road map and section divisions.
The testimony of Jesus fills Jerusalem in Acts 1–7. Luke says in chapter 6:
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.—Acts 6:7
Their witness to Jesus fills up Judea and Samaria in Acts 8–12. So Luke tells us in chapter 9 and chapter 12:
So the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.—Acts 9:31
But the word of God increased and multiplied.—Acts 12:24
Their witness for Jesus then spreads to the end of the earth. Luke summarizes this spread in Acts 13, 16, and 19.
And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.—Acts 13:49
So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.—Acts 16:5
So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.—Acts 19:20
Second, Luke gives examples of specific sermons and shows the impact of the Word (ex., Acts 3:12–26; 10:34–43;13:16–41; 17:22–31). Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 is a word picture of the word’s conquest. Acts 2:5–13 highlights the presence of devout Jews from “every nation under heaven” (2:5). The multitude heard the sound of the disciples speaking the mighty works of God in their own languages and they responded with both amazement or perplexity (2:12) and mocking (2:13). These Jews from the nations have not been conquered by the Word yet because it has not been preached. Look at the difference after Peter preaches the Word in the power of the Spirit! Three thousand Jews from every nation under heaven are “cut to the heart” (2:37) and they responded by receiving the Word and being baptized (2:41). Verse 38 made it clear that it was baptism into “the name of Jesus Christ” (2:38).
Third, Acts ends on the same note of the progress of the proclaimed Word. Paul lived in Rome for two years on house arrest, but the word of God was not chained or hindered. Paul “welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30–31).
We should just note how the two ends come together. The Second Coming and the end of the world will not happen until the gospel reaches the ends of the earth.
Further Application: Our Witness Today
We should linger on the link between the who and the what. The Spirit and his power are linked to the task of our witness. We are not promised power in connection to being witnesses for being pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine, pro-Republican or pro-Democrat, pro-mask or anti-mask. I do not want to attach ourselves to a political person or political issue so that it becomes a cry to unite around this or that. We are not a vaccine church or anti-vaccine church. We are not a Republican church or a Democrat church. We are not a homeschool church or a public school church. We are a Christian church. A Jesus church. He defines us. He unites us because we are united to him.
Are we following the apostles and the way they pursued their mission? Instead of seeking political power, they are to seek the Holy Spirit’s power that will help them accomplish the mission of Jesus as witnesses of Jesus.
Is he what you are most passionate about? Is he what you most want to share and most want to declare? I hear people share conspiracy theories about the election (e.g., “the fraud is so widespread that Trump really won almost everything including California”) or masks (e.g., “it is all a government conspiracy to inconvenience us”). If Christians share political conspiracy theories with such certainty and conviction, then people are going to think Jesus is a conspiracy theory too when we share him with certainty and conviction. It will hurt our witness.
Defeaters: Why Don’t We Witness?
Let’s take some of these objections head on. Sometimes it feels awkward and forced. And 2020 has been hard with the pandemic. But what an opportunity we have now. People are looking for hope. They are longing! And Christmas gives us such a bridge for our witness. Tis the season. There are times throughout the year that are easier than others. Christmas is the season where people are getting and receiving Christmas cards and gifts. Christmas cards are an amazing way to share Christ. He is the very reason for the season. Make the most of every opportunity. Redeem the time.
In terms of lack of effectiveness, let me encourage you to think in terms of seasons of sowing and reaping. All throughout church history we sing that there are moments when God blesses his word more than at other times. Let us just make sure that we are sowing and watering with our prayers and our tears. Don’t send the Christmas card and do not have that conversation without committing it to prayer and the word of his power. Bring Christ into the conversation early and often. Stake a claim that you are so closely connected to Christ that engaging with you will often mean hearing of Christ. “When Christ who is our life appears ...” (Colossians 3:4). How can we talk about our life apart from Christ when Christ is our life?
You may feel like a spiritual screw-up, but do not forget: You are not telling them about your spiritual performance. You are telling them about how he is perfect for them. He paid for our failures. Do not let the focus shift to you and away from Christ. Of course, you are not the point—you are the pointer. The more real you are, the better.
Dethrone your comfort zone and enthrone Christ as Lord of your lips and life. Make sure that Christ is served hot. Look at your intake and see what kind of impact it has on you. And then make adjustments. I have in mind something like what happened to D.L. Moody.
Receiving God’s love will lead to reflecting God’s love. It cannot be any other way. You must receive or you will have nothing to reflect. You cannot work it up or turn on a light switch and say, “I am going to love now.” If you love in a certain way, people will say, “What a person of love.” If you love people in such a way that they glorify our Father, they will say, “What a God of love.”
Amazing love how can it be
that thou, my God, wouldst die for me?
Understanding the love of God was one of the key turning points for D.L. Moody. Here is what Moody said. He heard a man named Henry Moorhouse preach seven sermons on the love of God from John 3:16. Moody explains the impact that this had on him:
I never knew up to that time that God loved us so much. This heart of mine began to thaw out; I could not keep back the tears. It was like news from a far country: I just drank it in. So did the crowded congregation. I tell you there is one thing that draws above everything else in the world, and that is love.
Moody began to study the doctrine of love more and more because of this awakening to the reality of God’s love. It forever changed and shaped his life and preaching:
I took up that word ‘Love,’ and I do not know how many weeks I spent in studying the passages in which it occurs, till at last I could not help loving people! I had been feeding on Love so long that I was anxious to do everybody good I came in contact with. I got full of it. It ran out my fingers. You take up the subject of love in the Bible! You will get so full of it that all you have got to do is to open your lips, and a flood of the Love of God flows out upon the meeting. There is no use trying to do church work without love … God’s work cannot be done without love.
This was one of the turning points in the life of D.L. Moody and I pray it will be for you in your life this morning.
Conclusion: The Power of the Holy Spirit for Witness
I once read the story of a mother and her son who went to see a great piano master. Before the concert started, the mom was talking to some of her friends. The little boy had been just learning to play the piano. He was staring at the grand piano and he had the urge to play a song that he had just learned. While his mom was talking and her attention was distracted, he saw his chance. Suddenly everyone hears: plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk. Everyone looked to see who was doing it and this mom was horrified to see it was her son. She rushed up to snatch him away and put a stop to the embarrassment. At that moment, the great piano master came from backstage and told the mom to pause. He said, “Little boy, keep playing that song. It is beautiful, and I think it can sound better than you know.”
So he started his plunk, plunk, plunk, and then the great piano master joins and plays a song in perfect alignment that transcends what the boy could ever do on his own.
Do you see who we are in this story? We are the plunker. This is what God does with weakness. He does not remove it. The boy is seen to be only playing the plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk. God works through our weakness and his strength is shown. It is manifest. He gets the credit. Do not wait until you feel like you are the piano master. We do not need to be the piano master—Jesus said that you already have him. He is called the Holy Spirit. There will be power that is not coming from your plunking but will come alongside your plunking.
Main Point: Jesus gives his disciples power to be his witnesses by his Spirit so that his kingdom will reach to the very ends of the earth.
Outline
Discussion Questions
Application Questions
Prayer Focus
Pray for a grace to be witnesses for Christ in the power of his Spirit.