Tag Archives: power

A Never-ending Story

Christian Life, , ,

A NEVER-ENDING STORY

“‘What comes next is very important. I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay in the city until He arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high,’

“He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising His hands He blessed them, and while blessing them, took His leave, being carried up to heaven.”

“And they were on their knees worshipping Him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God.Yes.” Luke 24:49-53 (The Message).

Luke’s story of the earthly Jesus comes to an end but never has a story ended like this before. His story could never have originated in human imagination; and to have been told as fact and truth if it were not,  would have been the biggest fraud ever spawned on the human race.

Unlike any other story, Luke writes only the first chapter here. He wrote chapter 2, recorded in the Book of Acts, for the same reader, Theophilus, and in the same straightforward, factual style, as a sequel to the life of this amazing man, and the outcome of His life, death and resurrection. What other human figure has impacted humanity as He did?

The first chapter of Jesus’ story closes with His return to the Father; the second opens with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He had assured His followers that they would not be abandoned as orphans. He would send His representative, one exactly like Himself, with the same disposition and mission who would not only be with them but in them.

Of what value would their three years with Him and everything He had taught and demonstrated, be to them without the power to carry out His instructions? They would be no better off than the Israelites who had God’s teaching, but no inner strength to put it into practice. The Holy Spirit had been present and active in the old dispensation, but there always remained the barrier of sin between them and their God which animal blood could not remove.

Jesus had established a new covenant with them, sealed with His own blood; not just a cut on the wrist, but every drop poured out as an atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. There was nothing left to alienate humanity from the Father, for in that offering was the forgiveness of sin and cleansing from the uncleanness sin had brought.

The Father was now free to send His Spirit to take up residence in the spirit of human beings once again, when they chose to respond to the invitation to return to their original status as sons of the living God.

The disciples were no longer skeptical and suspicious of Jesus. Had he not opened their understanding and given them the whole picture? They were overflowing with joy as they returned to the city, having watched their beloved Master go back to the unseen realm of the Father’s presence. It seems strange that they were rejoicing at His departure. Did that mean that their faith was so strong that they anticipated with joy the promise He had made?

They waited and worshipped in the Temple, no longer intimidated by the religious leaders who had so terrified them days before. They were convinced and they ignored the very people before whom they had cowered. Jesus was alive and that was all that mattered.

Drunk….On The Holy Spirit

Christian Life, , ,

DRUNK…ON THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Parthians, Medes…..even Cretans and Arabs!

“‘They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works.’

“Their heads were spinning. They couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused. ‘What’s going on here?’

“‘Others joked, ‘They’re drunk on cheap wine.'” Acts 2:9-13 (The Message).

Confusion again! But the disciples were not confused – they had it all together for the first time. They had finally got it and were focussed on the right thing – the mighty works of God. No doubt they were telling the startled bystanders about Jesus, about His death and resurrection and about the forgiveness of sins and the kingdom of God.

As usual, there was a mixed reaction from the crowd. Some of them had no clue what was happening. They watched and listened with open mouths to these crazy people, mostly uneducated Galileans, who were now speaking their languages fluently and eloquently.

As usual, there were the sceptics and mockers among them who could not see beyond the end of their cynical noses. ‘Drunk!’ was their diagnosis, ‘and so early in the morning.’ They neither heard what they were saying, did they process it for their own benefit. They simply wrote them off as drunk and laughed at them.

Did the disciples know what they were saying? Probably not at first. They were simply celebrating this unique experience in the best way they knew how, by shouting out their joy, not realising that in it was a message and a sign for all the people around them. No longer would they secrete themselves behind closed doors. They had a story to tell to the world and the energy of the Holy Spirit to tell it in power and truth.

By sending the Holy Spirit to be in them forever, God had initiated a partnership which guaranteed the effectiveness of their mission no matter where they went or what barriers and obstacles they met on the way. The same power that saturated Jesus was now saturating them and all those who would follow after them.

Why do we see so little of the evidence of Jesus’ presence in many parts of the church today? I guess there are many reasons why the church had slipped from being an exuberant organism to a sterile organization. Hosea’s diagnosis for Israel’s dismal failure to represent God to the world still holds: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6 (NIV)

Some groups, still believing that they are part of the church, have become nothing more than followers of a religion, practising rituals and keeping rules which have twisted the simple message and mission of Jesus so out of shape that it is no longer recognisable. Others have gone off the track, chasing the rabbits of theology, prosperity, titles and authority, and even mystical experiences, or majoring on minors to the extent that Jesus is buried under a thousand additions.

The early church experienced the undiluted power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them because they were in partnership with Him. They said what He said, did what He did and went where He sent them just like Jesus had done. Their eyes were on Jesus, their ears listened for His voice and their hearts were for Him.

Why have we lost the plot? Lack of knowledge! We have relied on others to tell us how to live and what to do instead of soaking ourselves in God’s Word and sticking to the simplicity of what Jesus taught and modelled. We have the same Spirit as He had, and we have the Written Word to guide us – therefore we have no excuse for being so far from the truth.

It is imperative for the church to get back to Jesus’ command, ‘Follow me.’ Imagine what could happen in the world it we did!

Watch Out!

Christian Life, , ,

WATCH OUT!

“With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to His disciples. ’Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.'” Luke 20:45-47 (The Message).

Why did Jesus issue such a strong warning to His disciples about the danger of coming under the influence of the religion scholars? These men had power because of their so-called ‘learning’ which they used to subjugate ordinary people and exploit them for their own ends.

When we examine His motive for warning His disciples, we have to ask ourselves, Was Jesus jealous of their power? Was He trying to turn public opinion against them because of their opposition to Him or was He sincerely alerting His disciples to the danger of being impressed and coming under their influence?

History would give them the answer. Both their Master, and later they, would suffer at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus had no personal axe to grind with them. He knew them. He knew the depth of their hypocrisy that fooled ordinary people. He knew how dangerous their power was, how ruthlessly these men would use it to protect their own position.

John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834-1902) said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely…” This is true when we see what power religious leaders have over the hearts and consciences of people. Terrible things happen because of the use of this power – massacres like the Inquisition – when millions of believers were slaughtered by the Church in the Middle Ages, the Crusades – the slaughter of Muslims in the name of Jesus, the Jim Jones suicides, the Waco, Texas, tragedy, and many more.

Jesus neither pulled rank nor used emotion to persuade people to believe Him. He had one weapon that was infallible – the truth. Real power lies, not in intimidation, manipulation or domination, which are the ways of the devil, but in revelation. God’s intention is not to enslave by fear but to set us free by the knowledge of the truth.

“To the Jews who believed in Him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” John 8:31-32 (NIV).

Jesus was so sure of the power of the truth of His words that He could say, “‘As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.'” John 12:47-48 (NIV).

There is a sob in Jesus’ voice as He warns of the ways of the hypocrite. ‘Be careful,’ He said, ‘not to be taken in by the image they portray. The real test is in their fruit.’ Their fruit was slavery to the rules and ritual they imposed on the people because they were the ‘educated ones’, but they distorted the understanding of God until He appeared as a slave driver, not a loving Father.

Any spiritual leader, who rules over people instead of connecting them to Jesus, is as suspect as the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Jesus warning is as relevant today as it was then. Whoever they are, if a Christian leader ties people to himself and his teaching and not to Jesus, he is suspect and dangerous. Stay away from him.

How can we identify them? Simply by measuring them against our infallible test – the Word of God, both Jesus, the living Word, and the Bible, the written Word. Jesus said, “‘Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'” Matthew 11:29 (NV).