The Basis of Boldness

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. We just ended a year which in many respects has been the most challenging that most of us have ever experienced in the midst of a global pandemic. Quite a lot has changed over the last year and I expect that we have only begun to see all of the changes we will see as a society. Here are just a few examples:

virtual work for many companies has become a reality and is likely here to stay in a much more prevalent manner than it was last February.

Videoconferencing and webinars will likely continue to be more prevalent.

Online shopping meal delivery services grew exponentially during the pandemic and will likely continue.

It’s likely going to take years before we see airline passenger volume return to pre-pandemic levels.

It’s likely that we will see a change in the culture of going to work sick, instead being encouraged to stay home when sick.

It’s likely that the focus on sanitizing and personal hygiene is here to stay.

If I was to ask all of you, there would be additional thoughts on what changes may be here to stay in some form. I also believe that we are going to continue to see a need for changes within the church. One prevalent example is technology and live-streaming. It is here to stay. There is no going back to a previous day when we didn’t have a strong online presence. However, there were already several changes we were starting to see in the church even before the COVID-19 pandemic that likely have just been accelerated in the last several months.

Here are some recent studies from before the pandemic. There are some disturbing trends that were already a reality. In October 2019, Pew Research Center shows survey results that show that from 2009-2019 the number of US adults who identify as Christian declined from 77% to 65%, while those who identify as religiously unaffiliated or “nones” rose from 17% to 26%. One quarter of US adults identify as a “none.” This should hurt our hearts as Jesus followers. (https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/)

Over the same 2009-2019 time period, Pew Research also found that US adults who say they attend religious services at least once a month declined from 52% to 45%. Just this week I read an article that a recent Barna study shows that 22% of US church-goers stopped attending services this year in any format! That is a troubling trend.

As I consider these trends and start to think about what some of the more permanent changes are coming from the pandemic, I found myself coming back to a question. Why is the church so sheepish to bear witness to Christ? As I mentioned before, this isn’t a problem that is new, but was just exasperated by the events of 2020. I believe that God is getting ready to do a new thing, but it is going to require the church to be bold.....maybe more bold than we have been in many years.

As I was praying about where we might start 2021 God continually led me back to the book of Acts and it is where we will be spending the next six Sundays as well. There is much for us to learn from the early church in Acts, but there is another important transition happening at the beginning of the book of Acts. The circumstances between the pubilic ministry of Jesus and the public ministry of the church is being narrated in the transition between the book of Luke and the book of Acts. I encourage you to take the time to study Luke 24 and Acts chapter 1 together. What you will find is that you can demonstrate the importance of the historical body of Jesus of Nazareth becoming the body of Christ. What we see Jesus doing in Luke we see the body of Christ (a.k.a. the church) doing in Acts.

Acts starts out following the advice and practice of historians of the day. It starts wout with the mention of the former book, Luke, and also overlaps the content we find at the end of Luke 24:36-53. We need to read Acts in light of the former book - in light of the narrative of Jesus of Nazareth and of his earthly ministry.

Acts 1:1–14 NIV

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 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 need to realize that it is not only possible for the church to live this out what Jesus of Nazareth did during his days on this earth, but that it is possible for us to do so confidently and with boldness. Let’s look at three realities from this morning’s passage that offer us that we can be assured that we can and should live in such a confident and bold manner.

The breaking of bread. In verse four we see a reference to when Jesus was eating with them. If we turn to Luke 24, we see the account of Jesus encountering two people on the road to Emmaus. The travelers did not recognize him, but Jesus journeyed with them and upon their urging stayed with them. It is what happens next that is the most incredible.

When the unrecognized Jesus broke bread with the Emmaus travelers, their eyes were opened to perceive the presence of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. The words “This is my body,” spoken over the breaking of bread, become the sacramental recognition that we are the body of Christ in the world, doing the ministry of Christ on behalf of the world. This is why we frequently observe the sacrament of communion. While we certainly celebrate and remember Christ’s sacrifice for us in the sacrament, it is vital that we break bread together as the people of God and realize that we are the body of Christ in the world. We are to live in such a way that we do the ministry of Christ within this world.

The gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s words in verse 4 and verse 8 provide great hope for the church. The promised gift of the Holy Spirit is what empowers believers to carry out the ministry of the church, to fulfill the Great Commission. In Luke 24, we hear Jesus’s promise of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1–2, we hear the same. The link between the historical Jesus and the body of Christ is the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. In Trinitarian language, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus. According to John 14:15–21, Jesus comes to be with us in the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul can write eloquently about Christ being in us even as we are in Christ. The Holy Spirit is our essential connection to the ministry of Jesus. The gift of the Spirit provided the continuity between Jesus and His disciples enabling them to serve as prophetic witnesses.

Notice that Jesus didn’t give them the knowledge that they asked for in verse 6. Instead, he promises their reception of power when the Holy Spirit comes on them. However, we must be careful to understand this power. It is not associated in any way with personal benefit or help. In other words, it is not about us. Instead, it is power to serve as Jesus’ witnesses. In order to speak as witnesses, they would be speaking from personal experience and conviction. This power refers to a divine gift essential for them to be effective witness to the gospel events and is not intended just to make them and future believers (a.k.a us) “strong” in our faith. The gift of the Spirit is all about being God’s witnesses to those around us - all day, every day, in everything we say and do.

The ascension. Even before the ministry of the church begins in Acts, we are given the story of the ascension of Jesus. Notice that it isn’t a separate scene in Acts 1, but instead immediately follows Jesus commissioning the apostles. Don’t miss the significance of this event. It is not about Jesus going to heaven on a cloud. It is about the enthronement of Jesus as King of all creation. We are not laboring as those without divine backing. The use of the term “power” in Acts is significant. Jesus is King. Kingdom power flows in the form of boldness for faithful witness. The church is the flesh-and-blood body of Christ doing ministry on earth.

The apostles witnessing this event is of critical importance. This gives them the first had account to share with others. They were eyewitnesses, they experienced it for themselves. When we share our experience with others, it is more powerful than if we share about someone else’s experience. This first hand account in combination with the power given by the Holy Spirit enable the apostles to continue Jesus’s work on earth even though he was no longer with them.

As we wrap up this morning, I wanted to remind us of how this boldness might look. As we continue on in 2021, we will be spending significant time looking into what this might look like for us in the current day, but here are some from the recent past: (elaborate on each)

Community Picnics

Trunk or Treat

Serving people - helping them move, running errands for them, driving them to appointments, etc.

Clothes Closet

Taking an old school bus full of clothes to a park and sharing clothing and Jesus with people

Planting a church downtown

Switching to everything digital basically overnight.

I can promise you this. Just like some of the things that I just mentioned are no longer in place, it does not mean they did not take boldness. I can also promise you that we will be looking for new and creative ways to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Not everything we try will work, but like the early church, we have reason to be bold in sharing the message of Christ that we find our hope, peace, and joy in.