The Gift Promised

We begin a new sermon series this week while we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We will be spending the next three weeks focusing on the gift Jesus offered us, the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit should be guiding and directing our steps each and every day.

Today we look at the promise that Jesus makes to his disciples just before he ascends into Heaven. Our Scripture comes from Acts 1:6-14. The words will be on your screen.

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

We are one week away from Pentecost Sunday. The Sunday we focus on the coming of the Holy Spirit into those in that upper room. If you would ask me, I would call this one of the most important days of the Christian year.

The gift that the disciples received on Pentecost is the same gift that we get to receive when we make the decision to follow Jesus. The coming of the Holy Spirit changed everything when it comes to our ability to connect with God.

The Holy Spirit is our closest connection with God because he resides within us and allows God to speak to us. The Holy Spiritis our earthly helper that guides and directs us in the ways that God desires for us to go.

He leads us and we should decide to follow him because the Holy Spirit will never lead us astray. It will always lead us in the direction that we need to go. It is through accepting the leading of the Holy Spirit that leaves us best equipped to serve God.

(Transition)

Our Scripture begins not with a focus on the Holy Spirit, but with a question. The disciples want to know when Jesus is “going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” This is them acknowledging their belief in Jesus as the Messiah.

The expectation was that the Messiah would destroy the enemies of the Hebrew people and return the land back to them. They believedJesus was the Messiah but did not understand what Jesus was about to do.

Jesus responds by pretty much telling them that it is none of their business and then telling them that they will receive power. The power of the Holy Spirit. This is Jesus saying that they will not receive human power, they will receive Spiritual power. They will be able to be as close to their God as they desire to be.

This power has been passed down from person to person ever since. Each one of us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior receive the same power offered to the disciples. We don’t receive human power. We receive spiritual power.

(Transition)

The Holy Spirit has been around since the creation of the universe. The Bible begins with these words

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

The Holy Spirit as a part of what we call the Trinity: The father, Son, and Holy Spirit, was a part of the creation story and has been a part of the human story since the beginning. Since the creation of man and woman.

(Transition)

Usually within the Old Testament the power of the Holy Spirit was limited to working outside of the body. Scripture would say that the Spirit of God was upon them. It still had power but not in the same way that it does now.

We know that there is a difference because of the first person that scripture clearly states received the Holy Spirit within him. His name was Bezalel and he wasn’t a religious leader. He was a craftsman. He was someone that worked with his hands. God had a special job for him. Bezalel becomes the foreman of the building of the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle was the place that God would reside while the Israelites were in the wilderness. God had specific specifications on how he wanted the Tabernacle built and it would take a special man with a special connection from God to be able to do the job.

(Transition)

Our first reading tells us that God gave Bezalel the ability, and the knowledge to complete the task. The Holy Spirit helps us in our abilities. Within us, sometimes unseen by us and by those around us, God has given abilities to us to allow for us to do what he is calling us to do.

God doesn’t leave us without the abilities to do the job. What can often happen is that our own feeling of inadequacy can lead us to not believe it is possible. God has given us the gifts but because of life experiences we don’t believe that we are able.

Being able to fulfill the task God has for us takes us having the faith to believe that he has given us the abilities to succeed. And also, the willingness to believe that even if we don’t have the abilities, that God will allow for us to do things beyond our own abilities with his help.

We can guess that Bezalel didn’t on his own have the abilities to fulfill the task of building the Tabernacle. We can assume this because if he had the abilities on his own God wouldn’t have had to fill him with the Holy Spirit and increase his potential.

God wants to also increase your potential. God wants you to be willing to trust him and to believe that he has given you what you need to succeed for him. We need to be willing to serve him, in whatever he has called for us to do.

(Transition)

He also helped with Bezalel’s knowledge. This should tell us that Bezalel was knowledgeable but did not have the knowledge to fulfill the task of building the Tabernacle. God did provide additional knowledge in order for the Tabernacle to be completed.

God does the same for us. He makes sure that if we need additional information to be successful, he will provide it. If we need additional information on possible next steps, he will provide it.

One way I look at it is when you are or were in school and the math teacher puts up a type of problem you have never tried before. The first time you saw the problem you gained a little knowledge but over time you are able to know the answer or the step the teacher was going to take next before they finished speaking.

(Transition)

God does the same for us. We might still be trying to decipher the path to take but God puts into our minds the way that we should proceed in order to be successful in the calling that he has given to us. He allows us to see our own possibilities.

Just like in the example of math class, the more that you learn the more you can believe in the process. When you step out in faith that first time it can be really scary because you think you can trust God, but you don’t know that you can.

But after being successful, the next time that you are called by God to take a step beyond what you believe you are capable of doing, it becomes easier to step out in faith. It becomes easier because you have seen what happens when you do. You begin to realize that it might not be about you being good enough. It might be about you with God’s help being good enough.

Later on in Exodus, we learn that the Holy Spirit had also inspired Bezalel to teach. When I see the words expressed this way it seems that he liked doing the work but was not fond of trying to teach others how to do the work.

The undertaking of building the Tabernacle meant that some of the people would have to be taught a trade. God must have showed the need to teach others a craft and gave Bezalel the ability to teach effectively.

(Transition)

The Holy Spirit may also at times lead us out of our comfort zone. We may be inspired to try something that we have never tried before. We need to be willing to respond to the way that God is directing us and have the faith to believe that if this is what God has called for us to do, God has given us the ability and the knowledge to be successful doing it.

(Transition)

Jesus followed his promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit with what they were to do with the power that he gave them. They will be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” These were the last words the disciples heard from Jesus before he ascended into heaven.

The disciples did not move right away. They stood staring at their Rabbi. The Messiah was going up into the air as two men in white robes, let’s call them angels, told the disciples to quit looking for him and to get moving.

(Transition)

The disciples were still focused on the physical Jesus and understandably so. They would wonder how the coming of the Holy Spirit would change their relationship with God. They would probably be doubting if the Holy Spirit could help guide and direct them the same way that Jesus did.

Eventually they had to walk away and wait for the Spirit to come. They waited but did not abandon their relationship with God while they waited. While they were waiting, they spent time praying. They spent time in communication with their God.

(Transition)

The disciples offer us a wonderful example of how to wait for the Lord. At the same time, we know what the Holy Spirit can mean to our relationship with God. Therefore, we should not only be focusing on the Jesus of the scriptures but also on how the Holy Spirit can guide and direct our lives when we turn our lives over to him.

This is how we receive the power to do what we are called to do. We can remember in scripture when Jesus gave power to his disciples so that they could go out and preach, heal the sick, and remove demons. Jesus had given them the power to do these specific things. We receive the same power through the Holy Spirit to accomplish what God has designed us to do.

God doesn’t limit what we can accomplish through the Holy Spirit. We limit what we can accomplish through our lack of faith. Scripture tells us that we can move mountains with the faith the size of a mustard seed. Our lack of faith limits what we can accomplish for God with the help of the Holy Spirit.

(Transition)

Jesus seems to be telling the disciples that there is a correlation between receiving the power of the Holy Spirit and being able to accomplish the calling he gave them. We are the continuation of the calling from these disciples. We also are called to reach out to our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria.

Jerusalem would be our local context. It is the people that are right around us. The Sharon Woods Neighbor and the area surrounding it. We are called to be God’s witness to these people.

That means that we need to be praying about ways for us to reach this group of people? This church was created to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to this community. Let us desire to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to accomplish this goal.

It maybe hard during these times to find ways to interact with those around you. We need to be patient and to look for opportunities. We need to let those around us know that we are there for them if they need us.

(Transition)

Judea would be those in central Ohio and beyond. How do we reach people at this level? For many of you, this is where you live. You have neighbors who are in need of Jesus. We showed through the BLESS model that often this begins with friendship. A willingness to spend time with those around you.

Samaria. This can be when things get tough. The Jewish people hated Samarians. They were the Jewish people that were left in Judea after they were conquered by the Babylonians. Many of the Jewish people were taken to Babylon to work as servants there.

In order to survive, those that were left began interacting with and intermarrying the Gentiles. When the Jewish people returned, they looked down on the Samaritans because they were no longer considered clean.

Who are the Samaritans to us? Are they the atheists who don’t believe there is a God? The agnostics, who believe that there may have been a God, but he no longer interacts with humanity.

The Jewish people who don’t except Jesus as their Messiah even though we believe he meets all of the criteria. The Muslims who say they believe in the same God, but who believe they are now the chosen people.

It doesn’t matter who, we are called to show the love of God to all people. We are called to serve those around us no matter what they feel about us. Let us be open to ways we can interact in a way that does not condemn but shows that we care.

(Transition)

And some are called to witness to the ends of the earth. This could be someone who was called to be a missionary in another country or to go on a mission trip somewhere around the world.

This most likely is not you but we each have to be open to what God desires for us to do. We need to be willing to go where God calls us to go and show the love of God to those that God places before us.

The Holy Spirit is the power that allows us to talk to God, listen to God and do the work of God. Next week we have its power unleashed for the first time amongst the early believers.