Seventh Sunday of Easter or Ascension Sunday

A little Liturgical Calendar 101 before we get started

I’ve shared this graphic before but you can see that the Liturgical Calendar works on a one year cycle

Like the seasons it all comes back around again and we go through the holidays again, etc.

That yearly repetition helps us continually soak in the gospel story throughout our lives

It technically STARTS at Advent, with the anticipation of the coming of Jesus

And the first HALF is focused on the person and work of Jesus … Who Jesus is

The first half goes all the way until Jesus ascends to heaven (which is this week)

And then the second half starts with Pentecost, and the birth of the church

If the first half is focused on who Jesus is, the second half is focused on who we are in Jesus

I just wanted to give that framework because our discussion this morning sits right at that transition point

Acts 1:1–11 (NIV84)

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 showed himself to these men 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 So when they met together, they 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.”

The context

Acts is a continuation of the gospel of Luke, picking up the story after the resurrection.

So Jesus has died and risen.

We’re told here he spent a good amount of time with people talking about, what?

the kingdom of God.

The endgame of this whole thing where God heals and restores all of creation.

Jesus tells them that he is leaving but THEY will be his witnesses to Jersualem, Judea, and Samaria

Sort of expanding circles that point to how to the news will spread from Jerusalem to the whole world

What does it mean to be witnesses of Jesus?

It means telling the world that Jesus rose from the dead and that his kingdom is breaking in to set the world right

So, a new era is opening up.

The promised messiah had now come in Jesus.

He was faithful to conquer sin and death.

He was leaving for a while

And until he comes again, his followers are called to go tell the world what’s happening and invite them to join in.

But as Jesus is leaving he tells his followers to wait. Don’t go yet. They’re missing one important thing.

The Spirit.

This is where I want us to focus this morning.

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What we have here is Jesus effectively commissioning the Church.

You have a group of people who are committed to Jesus.

They now have the mission: go tell the world

And if you want to add Matthew 28: baptize people and make disciples

Got it.

They have the theology to talk about how Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Isn’t that all the church needs?

commitment to Jesus, a plan, and good theology?

Can I suggest to you that our modern constructs of church largely function on these three things

get people committed

have a solid plan - that is, a ministry model, a strategy for impact, a technique for manufacturing outcomes

and clarify what theology you’re working with

What’s missing?

The Spirit.

Jesus says, “You’ve heard me speak of the Spirit before. He is the helper that the Father promised.”

In John 16:7 Jesus tells the disciples that it’s actually better for them that he leaves because then the Spirit will come

Which is an incredible statement

That somehow the Spirit’s presence will be better than Jesus’s physical presence with them.

And that’s because the Spirit will dwell IN them and empower them.

If the people of God take off without the Spirit they’re missing

The very power given to the church to become the transformed people of God, which is what validates their witness

The very power going before them into the world to prepare the soil and convict people of sin and open their imaginations

The very power that unites new people from different tribes into one new body

Jesus commissions the church here.

But we don’t celebrate THIS as the birth of the church

We celebrate the birth of the church at Pentecost

Because at Pentecost the Spirit arrives

And the church is not the church without the presence and power of the Spirit at work in them

The truth is though, in modern America we largely do church like the Spirit is supplemental but not entirely necessary

We function as though the REAL power lies in our plan, our model, our technique

And we largely function as though we can engineer revival

It goes like this:

If we get the right leaders, and the right vibe, and fine tune the message, and win people over with our programs then we’re going to see great impact for the kingdom

Everyone’s trying to figure out what the next THING is that will help their church grow and have an impact.

And when we come to rely on these ministry techniques and programs it makes the Spirit sort of redundant.

The authors of a book The New Parish, say it this way:

“Technique is superstition for the modern age … like some sort of magic incantation that will produce results without the need for reliance on the Spirit in each context.”

And the truth is, if we’re operating as a church trusting the power of our skills and techniques and programs, it not only makes the Spirit redundant, it makes the Spirit into sort of a nuisance

Because what if the Spirit wants to disrupt your awesome five year vision and well oiled machine of a staff?

Not now, Spirit. We’re just getting momentum.

I’d offer that we like techniques better because we feel like we’re in control of them.

We’re in the drivers seat

And submitting to the Spirit means

Allowing him to take us where he will, even into seasons of sacrifice

Allowing him to work in our hearts and in our relationships, which is not always easy

Waiting for him to bring fruit that we couldn’t manufacture

No no. That’s all far too scary. Far too not in our control.

But ... that’s where the power is.

I challenge you to read the book of Acts and try to imagine it without the Spirit at work

It wouldn’t even get off the ground.

And if some disciples decided to implement a strategy it would have been so lifeless and never would have left the region.

How in the world have we come to accept a form of church that does not have being attuned to the presence and power of the Spirit at the very center?

How have we come to place our trust in strategy and charismatic leadership?

Could it be that what we experience in the church is often so shallow because it’s built on the power of technique and not the power of the Spirit?

Jesus said, “Don’t do anything until you receive the Spirit.”

I imagine that first group was like, “OK, so how do we know that’s happened?”

Maybe some of us now are like, “so what does it mean for a the church to be Spirit led?”

Truth is we’ve become pretty adept at relying on our winning strategies and claiming they’re Spirit-inspired

“The Spirit led us to buy this property, etc. etc.”

Maybe

But more often than not the Spirit is going

Lead us to repentance and grace and reconciliation

Show us there are needs in the body or in the community that we can tend to

Reveal our idols

Call us into places of faith or waiting that our outside of our control

I mean in the books of Acts the Spirit calls Peter out on his racism for crying out loud

But again that’s where the power is.

That’s where changed lives happen.

That’s where healing is found.

That’s where peace is restored.

That’s where we encounter God is a real way.

Not a manufactured way.

And I think we want that. I think we want the real thing.

And I can come up with a nice new strategy for how to manufacture closeness to the Spirit but I just don’t think it works that way.

I think it’s more about being open and present.

And we need some direction and leadership and plans but we have to be careful not to be so fixated on our own plans that we can’t hear and respond to the Spirit at work.

The authors of the New Parish put it this way.

There is no controlling technique, no magic code or habits of highly effective people that can take the place of practicing love, friendship and Spirit-led collaboration within the neighborhood.

I really like that.

And isn’t it freeing to hear it phrased that way?

How do we live into our calling as the church?

love, friendship, and Spirit-led collaboration right where we are.

Making space for him to work in us and through us.