The Gospel Comes in Power

Prayer

Demonstrating the Gospel - Kingdom of God Comes in Power

As we continue our look at Practicing the Way - the Way of Jesus, what it means to be a follower of Jesus, one of the things this reveals (and that we see in Scripture) is that Jesus is THE prototype. In other words, Jesus is who we are meant to become like, to emulate. The Bible uses the language of firstfruits, Jesus is the firstfruit, the first fruit that appears on the vine, demonstrating what the rest of us are to look like. Jesus shows us what true humanity looks like.

That includes everything we’ve been talking about in goal #2 of following Jesus, becoming like Jesus. Becoming people who are humble, compassionate, faithful, joyful - and above all, people who love. And we become people who do the things Jesus did. Which is what we’ve been talking about the last two weeks - we make space for the gospel (hospitality) and we preach the gospel.

That brings us to the third main aspect of Jesus’ ministry, which is demonstrating the gospel. When I say demonstrate the gospel, much of that includes the signs, the miracles Jesus performed. Jesus even made this unbelievable claim in regards to our doing what he did, John 14:12, Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

The most obvious question that arises in response to what Jesus says here is, how could that possibly be? Surely, Jesus must be talking about something else - there’s no way we can do greater things than Jesus did. In order for us to understand this, we must address a common misconception - that misconception is this - that the work Jesus did, healings, exorcising demons) he did out of his divine nature. He did them because he is God.

But if this were true, it means that we can not do them. After all, we’re not divine, we’re only human. But then how do you account for the miracles in the Bible done not by Jesus, but by others? In the Old Testament, both Elijah and Elisha raise someone from the dead. They both miraculously provide food. The disciples are sent out by Jesus two by two to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and to heal the sick, deliver people from demons. Throughout the book of Acts, we see miracle after miracle - Peter and John heal a paralyzed man. Peter raises a woman named Dorcas from the dead. Others are healed just by his shadow passing by! If Jesus performed miracles out of his divine power, how did these others do it?

Turns out that they were doing it in the same way Jesus did it - the way we see laid out in Scripture - by the power of the Holy Spirit. What we see consistently in the Bible is that Jesus was fully human, with all of our weaknesses and limitations, just like us. The works of power he did were not out of his divine nature, but through the power of the Holy Spirit that came on him.

Philippians 2:6-7 makes clear that Jesus emptied himself of his divine power: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. So Jesus retained his divine nature (being in nature God), but made himself nothing, emptied himself in order to be human.

In Matthew 3:16, As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. The Holy Spirit, in power, descends on Jesus. Immediately afterwards, we see Jesus moving in the power of the Spirit - Matthew 4:1, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Finally, Jesus himself describes his power to do the works he did as a result of the Holy Spirit coming on him. Here Jesus quotes a passage from Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

As it turns out for us, this is good news for us - because the power of the Holy Spirit is available to us. And because the power of the Holy Spirit is available to us - we can do what Jesus did. We can share in his works of power, we can demonstrate the gospel.

This is essential, because what we see in the Bible is that all aspects of what Jesus did, his ministries, making space for the gospel, preaching the gospel, and demonstrating the gospel, come hand-in-hand. They work together. Miracles and other works are signs of the inbreaking of the kingdom of God. As John Mark Comer writes, Wherever Jesus went, the Kingdom went.

Because, as Jurgen Moltmann argues, miracles are not an intrusion into the natural order but the healing of it. We are so used to death, disease, injustice and chaos that we forget - they are the intruders in God’s good world.

Demonstrating the Gospel - The Works We Are to Do. So let’s take some time to look at the actual works that Jesus did - and that we, too, are to join in as we move toward doing what Jesus did.

The first way that Jesus demonstrated the gospel is through healing. Matthew 4:23-24, Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.

Notice here - that it’s in the context of Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom that these works of healing were done. The good news of the kingdom both proclaimed and demonstrated. And note, too, the broad array of the healings Jesus did - every disease and sickness. Those with severe pain, those who were having seizures, the paralyzed, all of them.

Now before I talk a moment about miraculous healings, I want to make clear that we can share in Jesus’ healing work in all sorts of ways, in our everyday lives. We can care for the sick, providing comfort, binding wounds, giving medication. We can walk with someone through a painful period in their life. Opportunities abound to share in the work of Christ if we have eyes to see it, if we’re open to it.

But I want to encourage us to consider not just the ordinary works of healing, but the miraculous works as well. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Do not quench the Spirit. In other words, let the Spirit move! Let the Spirit come in power (in fact, invite him - Come, Holy Spirit!). Let’s be open to the miraculous work of the Spirit through us to heal others.

God has always used his people to do healing. In fact, it’s one of the gifts the Spirit gives, as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-9, To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit. Those gifts are given to us, to you and to me. Some of you have been given a message of wisdom, or a message of knowledge, others have the gift of faith. And some have the gift of healing.

We ought not to assume, that can’t be me. It’s not our role to tell God what gift we do or do not have. Our role is to live with an openness, a surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit in us. To discern and receive and use the gift the Spirit has given us faithfully. God may use you to bring gift of healing.

So when you pray for healing. Pray in faith, pray believing the possibility of healing. Be willing to lay hands on the person you’re praying for, to use anointing oil, as a symbol of the power of the Holy Spirit coming on that person. By the way, I’ve loved when folks in this church have come to ask for prayer according to James 5:14, Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. Beautiful act of faith that God does indeed heal - and uses us to bring healing about.

The second work that Jesus did in demonstrating the good news (and we are to do as well) may be the hardest for us to embrace in our modern viewpoint - seems more like the stuff of horror movies or just what people believed a long time ago, because they just didn’t know any better. The work of exercising demons, deliverance.

Let me encourage you to take this seriously - first and foremost is because this is what Jesus, the smartest person who ever lived - believed to be a reality, and in fact, was a primary part of his work. 1 John 3:8, The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus came to demolish Satan and all the evil he has perpetrated!

CS Lewis gives great counsel when it comes to demons in his book, The Screwtape Letters. In it he writes that we typically make one of two mistakes, we either dismiss the devil - seeing him only as the cartoonish figure in red with horns and the pointy tail - or, we take him too seriously, dreading and fearing his power over us. But the devil, like all the spiritual beings mentioned in the Bible, is all too real. Demons are real, as are angels. The Bible also mentions the Nephilim, Seraphim, Cherubim. And, of course, God himself, who is spirit.

Like with healing, there are works of deliverance that may be less spectacular but no less significant, works that we may be involved in our everyday lives. We can join with God in working to help deliver others from addictions, from destructive habits, from sins that still hold them in bondage. Through prayer, support and encouragement. By being willing to serve as an accountability partner - I’ve had a few friends who’ve asked me to serve in that role due to their struggle with pornography. There are all sorts of addictions: alcohol, shopping, eating, drugs, sleep - and we can come alongside others to help deliver them.

But again, I want us to be open to even greater works. The disciples themselves shared in this work, Mark 6:13, They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. I confess I can’t speak of direct knowledge of demon possession (at least not any that I was aware of), but this isn’t based on my personal experience. It’s based on what the whole of the Bible unequivocally affirms - that there are dark spiritual forces active in the world. We should take that seriously - and take seriously that God calls his people to share in the fight against them. We have the greater power, they cannot withstand the power of Jesus Christ, they must submit to him.

Third way to demonstrate the good news of the Kingdom is prophecy, speaking forth a word from the Lord. Helpful to remember that prophecy includes not simply what may occur in the future (such as Jesus foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem), but also bringing word from the Lord to a group of people or to one person in particular.

As with the other works, we should be open to everyday opportunities to sharing word from the Lord with others. That may involve encouraging someone with a verse or a truth about who Jesus is. Sharing a blessing (praying for them the peace of Christ, or his grace or comfort). Or perhaps sharing something that God has been showing you in his word. I pray that my teachings are a word from the Lord to you every week.

And again, there are those among us who are gifted by the Holy Spirit for prophecy. The gift of prophecy is spoken of numerous times in Paul’s letters (in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14) and Romans 12:6 - We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith...The instructions are clear - if God has given you a gift, use it!

God may give you a particular word for a person, for the church - and we want to be open to the Spirit working in and through us (both in offering the word and in receiving the word given to us). A year ago summer we received a word as a church given from within this body, a word from Revelation 3:2, Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. We took that to heart, praying our commitment to move in strength, to pursue the deeds the Lord has for us. That was part of our journey into Cultivating Flourishing Congregations and our efforts to grow more into a church that makes disciples.

Finally, the last demonstration of the gospel I want to touch on is justice. Like all these demonstrations, it is a sign that the Kingdom of God is here, available to all. A powerful example of Jesus enacting justice is his clearing the temple grounds of the moneychangers, turning over tables and driving them out. He did it because, as he said, they had made it a den of robbers. A place not where people could pray and worship, but only to make a crooked dollar. Justice is all about making wrong things right. Crooked things straight.

Thinking about justice reminds me of the everyday work of International Justice Mission, who are involved all around the world, fighting injustice - corrupt legal systems, modern day slavery, child sex trafficking, and more. Their president, Gary Haugen, emphasized that every day the IJM staff stops and takes time to pray - because they know they are fighting the dark spiritual forces of the world and they want to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. They are deeply committed to that time of prayer, because they don’t want to be doing the dangerous work they do on their own - they want the Lord right there with them!

We can demonstrate the gospel in our everyday lives as well - by simply acting justly. Being just and fair in our personal interactions. In our work. By engaging in acts of generosity - helping to provide for the poor and needy. Advocating for the weak and vulnerable. Fighting against unjust laws (or for just ones). Abortion is a justice issue, fighting against it is a fight for the most defenseless among us, the unborn. Not showing favoritism, due to race or wealth status or nationality. To engage in justice is to work for God’s goodness for all.

Let me offer this final thought - These works, things Jesus did that we are to do as well, are a foretaste, a demonstration of what Jesus will bring to completion when he returns, when the Kingdom of God comes in glory. When that happens everything, as we pray every Sunday, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. All suffering, pain, death, disease, injustice - gone. Only God’s goodness, his life, joy, peace, will remain. To follow Jesus is to share in these works, to trust that God uses his people - you and I - not just to proclaim his good news, but to demonstrate it. And sometimes even in miraculous ways. So let’s live with an openness to power of the Holy Spirit working in us - and through us so that people will get a taste of the glory of the kingdom of God.

Practicing the Way, Session #7, getting into what it looks like to put practicing the way into practice. Crafting a Rule of Life. Ways that we can begin to more fully organize our lives around those goals of being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, doing what Jesus did.

Small group sessions this week. Can’t make one, watch the Session video. Our spiritual practice this week is Confession (definitely a challenging one). Continue to seek to incorporate Sabbath, noticing and naming your emotions, Daily Prayer and Scripture (good way to start with your Rule of Life!)

Closing Prayer - Time of Reflection (openness to the work of the Holy Spirit)