"Why Are You Looking?" Sermon Acts 1:1-11

"Why Are You Looking?"
[Acts 1:1-11]
May 4, 2008 Second Reformed Church

Luke begins his second volume on the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Scripture that was read this morning, and I want to make one translation note: in our pew Bible, verse one reads, "I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning," (NRSV) and while that is not an impossible translation, there is a better one: "I dealt with all that Jesus began to teach and do" (ESV). The difference is subtle, but important: the way our pew Bible is translated can suggest that Jesus did and taught certain things and stopped, whereas, most other translations show Jesus to have done and taught certain things, and those things continue to be done and taught.

Jesus rose from the dead, then He spent forty days with the apostles and the disciples. He let them touch Him. He ate and drank with them. He continued to teach them. He showed them the place where the nails had been in His Hands and Feet and where the spear had been thrust through His Side. Jesus was alive. After the gruesome crucifixion, after having been declared dead and sealed in the tomb, Jesus' followers thought it was all over -- that they had been mistaken, but here He was, alive again, though there was something different. Over those forty days, our text tells us, Jesus offered up all of these "convincing proofs" that everything He had ever done and said was true: He is the Messiah -- the Savior; He is God in the flesh. And it was time for Him to ascend to the throne that the Son left in Heaven.

Paul wrote, "[God] worked [his great might] in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:2–23, ESV).

Jesus led the disciples "out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them" (Luke24:50, ESV). And Jesus told them that they were to go back to Jerusalem and wait there. And there, He promised that three things would happen:

First, He said, "You will be baptized with Holy Spirit." What does this mean? Jesus explained, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. ... These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:15-17; 25-26, ESV).

"You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" means that the Holy Spirit will indwell you. Notice: the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of God, nor the Spirit of Christ, nor our spirit -- the Holy Spirit is a distinct Person of the One God. Just as the Father is God and the Son, Jesus, is God, so the Holy Spirit is God. And the Holy Spirit is not an "it." He is a Person. So, God, Himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit indwells each Christian. Why? To remind us of everything that Jesus did and taught and to help us understand everything Jesus did and taught. God, Himself, lives in us, teaches and reminds us, that we would be able to read the Bible and hear it preached and understand most of what God has said without difficulty.

Let us recognize that God the Holy Spirit "came upon" people in the days before Jesus, but He rarely indwelled people. As the chosen people of God, we have been granted this amazing gift, that God Himself is always with us, always instructing us, always helping us to remember all that Jesus said and did.

It was a mere ten days later that the Holy Spirit first indwelled the people of God, and, if the Lord is willing, we will look at that next week. And from that day forward, the Holy Spirit indwelled everyone who repented and believed on Jesus -- even the Gentiles -- the non-Jews, as Peter reported to the Church: "'As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." If then God gave this same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?' When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life'" (Acts 11:15-18, ESV).

And then the disciples interrupted Jesus and fell back on their old question, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" "Lord, does this mean that You will now rip the nation of Israel from Rome and all her oppressors and set up an earthly reign?" And Jesus told them that they didn't need to know when such things would occur.

The Holy Spirit would remind them, once He indwelled them, of an interchange Jesus had with the Pharisees, "Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, "Look, here it is!" or "There!" for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you'" (Luke 17:20-21, ESV).

What they didn't understand on the day of the Ascension was that the Kingdom of God is spiritual, not a literal, earthly kingdom, and it was already in their midst. Yes, there will be a physical restoration of the Creation, but the Kingdom of God is spiritual and it is here, now, in our midst, and every Christian is part of it, united in the Body of Christ.

In a similar way we understand the bread and the cup that are before us -- the elements that we shall receive in the Lord's Supper: we eat the bread and drink from the cup, but the physical elements do not, themselves, do anything to us this morning that they do not do to us should we consume them at any other time or place. However, Jesus appointed the bread and the cup to be the elements of this Supper, that when we receive them, Jesus is really, spiritually here, and He ministers to us, and give us His Grace, strengthening us in the faith. Although we use the physical elements that Jesus appointed, the Lord’s Supper is a spiritual event, where Jesus Himself ministers to us and prepares us for the works He calls us to perform. And so we understand that if we are to be stronger in the faith and more mature in the faith, we will receive the Lord’s Supper frequently, to meet with and be ministered to by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." When the Holy Spirit indwelt the disciples, and when He indwells us, we receive power from God. Power to do what? Luke explains: "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need" (Acts 4:33-35, ESV).

What did we hear? The apostles -- the ministers -- were given the power to give their testimony to the resurrection. They were given the power to preach. And others -- including the deacons -- were given the power to make sure that the needs of all those in the Church were met.

Remember what we saw when we looked at the Gospel of Mark, "And [Jesus] said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover'" (Mark 16:15-18, ESV).

Remember, we said that the point here is not that every Christian must be able to cast out demons, spontaneously speak in foreign languages, drink poison and survive, and heal the sick. No, the point, in the context of the whole Scripture, is this: God will give each one of us everything we need to proclaim His Gospel. The point is not the miraculous works; the point is that God will overcome our inabilities -- even extraordinary ones -- so that each one of us will be able to tell others, through word and deed, that Jesus Christ is the One and Only Savior of those who believe. That is the power that the disciples, and we, are given.

And that leads directly into the third, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus directed them." (This is before this morning's Scripture.) "And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Matthew 28:16-20, ESV).

Just as the disciples were indwelled with the Holy Spirit, and given power through the Holy Spirit, each other them was called to spread the Good News of Jesus -- that through Him Alone, there is a Way to be right with God, to escape His Wrath for our sin -- and every Christian today is called to the same task. In word and in deed, we are to live our lives and speak and talk and purposefully tell others about Jesus. We are to live self-conscious lives, as the name-bearers of Christ, knowing that everything we say and do reflects on Jesus and His Salvation.

After Jesus had given these three sure commands, these three things that will happen, He blessed the disciples. "While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:51, ESV). They saw Jesus, this flesh and blood Man Who they had spent the past forty days with, eating and drinking, examining His Wounds, and learning His Teaching -- they watched Him float up into the air, in His Body -- we may remember that the prophet Elijah was sucked up into the air while he was alive -- and they watched Him go up, up, through the clouds, and out of sight.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever watched a plane or a rocket or a bird or a balloon or a baseball or a UFO go up through the air and disappear from sight? Picture any one of us, floating up through the sky, through the clouds, and out of sight -- that's what Jesus did. And like as with all these things, the disciples watched Jesus go up, up through the air and disappear, but the just kept standing there, staring up into the empty sky -- perhaps waiting to see if He would return.

And two angels appeared and said, "What are you doing? Why are you looking into heaven? Jesus will return in the same way that He ascended. But for now, you have work to do."

Jesus did ascend, and He will return. John wrote, "Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, the ruler of the kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ... Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades'" (Revelation 1:4b-7; 12-18, ESV).

When will the day of His Return be? We don't know, but we should be ready and we should be watchful. Jesus said, "But concerning the day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or in the morning -- lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all. Stay awake" (Mark 13:32-37, ESV).

However, even though they were to be ready -- awake -- the angels told the disciples to stop staring up at the sky. Being prepared does not mean spending your life standing around waiting and staring -- hoping someone else will do the work that Christ set before us. No, Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses...." Jesus has ascended to the Father and resumed His Throne and reigns supremely over all creation. Jesus had kept His Promises: we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have received power and continue to grow in fath and maturity.

So, are we standing around, staring at the clouds, or are we being faithful witnesses? Jesus said, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is the servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if the wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put his with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:45- 51, ESV).

Jesus is seated on His Throne in power. He has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, and we have received power. The question before each us this morning is this: "What are we doing in response to Jesus' Ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit and power?" Are we staring at the clouds -- or the TV? Or are we being witnesses to the Gospel in all that we say and do?

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we worship You, Ascended Savior. We rejoice in the convincing proofs and eyewitness testimonies You have left us of Your Life and Work. We thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit and for the power that we receive in reading the Bible and in hearing it read and preached. We thank You for maturing us in the faith through these means of grace and through the workings of the Holy Spirit.. We thank You that we have the sure promise of Your Return, so we shall not fear, and we have purpose in life through You, so we will not waste our lives. Make us desire to be Your witnesses and make Yourself known through us. And may all be to Your Glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen.