A Power… A Purpose … A Hope!

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Good morning. My name is Rich Kopanke. I'm the community life pastor here at Promontory, and I'm excited this morning, excited about the opportunity we're gonna have to go back together in time to when it all started. Now I'm not talking about in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth that's a little too far back. We're gonna go to when the church started. And how it spread Christianity to the corners of the ancient world. And as we do that we're gonna discover something we're gonna discover what it's gonna take for God to do the same thing today that he did back then and the role that he wants each one of us to play and the gift that he wants to give us in order to make all this possible.

Now as we go back in time 2000 years to when it all got started, the first thing you would probably notice is that it started pretty small. I mean, a handful of followers, a dozen of Jesus' disciples, some other believers, and a bunch of hangers-on who were there for the party, the miracles, the food, I mean, loaves and fishes. Several years later, there are 120 believers. In an upper room following on the day of Pentecost, 3000 more were added. The growth of the church continued. Missionaries, some of them the apostles Paul and Peter, went out into the ancient world to declare the gospel, the good news of a message of God's love, of forgiveness of our sins through the death of Christ on the cross, the promise of eternity in heaven. Churches were started, more and more embraced Christ. By 300 AD it was estimated that 10% of the Roman population were Christians. Today, somewhere around they say 1/3 of the world's population profess an allegiance to Christ.

The meteoric rise of Christianity, becoming one of the largest religions in the world, astounding. I mean, let me tell you guys, a bookie in the New Testament would not have placed odds on Christianity, making it past the first 100 years, much less to today. So what made the difference? How did the Jesus' disciples, a group that included some fishermen, possibly one guy was a carpenter, a political zealot, a tax collector, how did they become the tip of the spear and turning the ancient world around and toward Christ?

Well, we're gonna jump into that story now we're gonna look for those answers as we read from Acts chapter one. And as we do we're gonna enter a time when Jesus' ministry here on earth is coming to an end. And the early church is getting its start. As we do that, as we read here, I'm gonna encourage you to look to see if you can identify three things that played such an important role back then. As well as that will play an important role for us as a church and as Christ's followers today. Three things power, purpose, and hope.

Now please stand if you're able to as we honor God's word and read from Acts chapter 1 beginning of verse 8. And again be on the lookout for any hint at all that of what caused this miraculous growth and what we need today. You ready? Let's go. Our setting is just outside of Jerusalem as Jesus tells his followers:

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And when he had said these things as they were looking on, Jesus was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into the heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Thank you for standing. Please be seated. Here in Acts chapter one, Luke, the author of Acts, picks up the story of Jesus. In those first verses that we haven't read, he describes how after his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people over the next 40 days. During that time, he gave his followers instructions, including what we read in verse 4, that he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem. In other words, guys, stick around here for a while. Don't go on any trips, OK? Don't wander away. But wait for the promise of the Father, which Jesus said you heard from me. In other words, I've talked to you guys about this already.

For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

I mean these are exciting words. I mean this is a huge promise that Jesus elaborates on. Then in verse 8 when he says:

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

What was it that enabled this ragtag band of believers to impact their world with the gospel message. How did this group of nobodies start a spiritual movement that changed the world and brought many to a saving faith in Christ? The first reality leading to that success. The thing that we need today is we seek to impact our world for Jesus. We need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and then through us. And that's what Jesus promises here:

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

You know the Greek word there talks about an explosive, a supernatural power that would change the world. And friends, that's what became available to every Christian, every Christ follower. On and since the day of Pentecost. Here's what God promises people even 600 years earlier. We read in Ezekiel 36:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you. And cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Instead of the political power that many of Jesus' followers have been hoping for, their leader is offering a power that is far greater and nobler. To be clothed with heavenly power. With God's spirit within them. I mean guys don't forget the context here in several moments Jesus is ascending to heaven. That means no more fireside chats with his disciples in the evening, no more deep discussions while Jesus and his disciples are walking down a road. Jesus would be gone. I mean sure he'd still be with them just as he is with us today spiritually hearing our prayers, speaking to the Father on our behalf, but physically he's gone, he's in heaven. Seated at the right hand of God the Father, symbolic of his authority and rule. I mean that's where Jesus would be. But he wasn't leaving his followers abandoned or powerless.

In fact, back in John 14, he had already told them:

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. But you know him, for he dwells within you and will be in you.

The Holy Spirit. The spirit of God making his home inside of them. And us today. Empowering us to live boldly for Christ. Equipping us with the spiritual gifts that we need to carry out our God-given assignment here on Earth, guiding us in the decisions that we need and make. Assuring us of our status as a child of God, Paul speaks of that Romans when he says:

the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

But hey, do we really need all that? Well, the simple answer is, yeah. I mean that is if you wanna pull off the divine agenda God has for you. I mean Jesus wasn't just offering his followers a source of power:

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

He was also giving them a purpose for their lives. I mean just look at the specific job description Jesus has for his followers to carry out.

You will be my witnesses.

You'll do it in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, to the ends of the earth, in your neighborhood, the next town over and around the world. And friends as followers, that's our mandate today as well. But now let's be honest. We can be Jesus' witnesses. Without the Holy Spirit working through us. I mean, really, we can. We can go pass out Christian tracts to everyone that we meet. We can buy time on the radio and television and with ads telling everyone about how much they need Jesus. We can even secretly slide up to people at the bus and whisper in an ominous tone, turn to Jesus or burn. We could do all that more we could do, we could do it all, we can do it zealously. But it's not gonna change anything. Unless the Holy Spirit's in it.

I mean, Paul tells us the reason for that in 2 Corinthians. He says:

the God of this world, that's Satan. Has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

You know what that means? That means that you or I, we can debate the gospel with an unbeliever, we can point them to every proof there is for the existence of God. We can try to love them into the kingdom with our actions. And you know what? We'll get nowhere, not a 0, zip. My friend, my brother, my dad won't turn to Christ because they won't be able to truly understand their need for God. And that's where our need for the Holy Spirit comes into the picture.

That's why Jesus tells us in John 16:

I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper, the Holy Spirit will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you, and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

Friends, it is only the Holy Spirit. Who can speak to a person's soul. Take the blinders off that Satan has put there to keep them from responding to the gospel. Bring conviction into a person's heart so that they might see their need for forgiveness and a new life in Christ. That's why guys, as we seek to point people towards Jesus, those that we love, those that we wanna spend eternity with in heaven, we'll share with them the gospel, the good news of Christ who died for them, of God's love for them. That's our primary purpose in life.

You will be my witnesses.

And we'll tell them of what God has done in our lives and that the difference he's made in us that way they can see it not just as something that happened 2000 years ago, but that's real today as we share our stories. But we'll also pray. We'll also invite God's spirit to go before us to open their eyes and their hearts, to bring conviction to their souls. And that's when our friends, our family, our neighbor will turn to Christ and we will celebrate what God has done. It is not us, it is the Holy Spirit working through us that brings about the miracle of salvation. We can't pull off this agenda that God has for us without the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

That's real I mean, do you still doubt it? Then let me take you to John 14:12 and see if that doesn't convince you of your need for the Holy Spirit's help in your life. As Jesus prepares his disciple for his own death and ultimate ascension. Jesus says:

truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father.

Have you ever read that verse before? Did you scratch your head afterwards? Did you kind of look up to heaven and say, huh? I mean we're gonna do greater works than Jesus. Jesus, the son of God? Really? Seriously? Isn't that aiming a little too high? And yet guys, God has a purpose for each of our lives, things he wants you to accomplish and you'll never be able to pull them off without his help. I mean just think of the list, leading your friend to Christ, living a holy life, being an imitator of God in this world. Being Christ-like, proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the world, forget it. It is not happening. Unless God's spirit empowers us. And so again, here's why we need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.

Now, hey guys, I got good news for you. OK, ready? If you are a Christian believer. I mean if you have stepped across that line of faith in your life and chosen to put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you brought him all your failures, all the ways that you've blown and said, God, forgive me, and from the bottom of your heart you confess to the God. Then you know what? Paul makes it abundantly clear in Romans 8, God's spirit is within you already. I mean, he says in verse 8, he says:

you, however, are not in the flesh but in the spirit if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Guys, that's good news. God's spirit, as we've stepped across that line of faith, God's spirit entered our lives. But now, what are you doing about it? I mean, are you inviting God's spirit to lead, to empower you? Are you being sensitive and obedient to that gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit regarding things that you should do or maybe some things that you're doing that you really shouldn't be doing? Are you trusting God's spirit to help you accomplish his purposes even when that includes things that are God-sized?

Again, without the Holy Spirit, the first century church would have never gotten off the ground, and it's the same for us today as individuals seeking to follow Jesus and as a church seeking to honor God on this hill. We need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us. And as we've already seen, we need to grasp God's purpose, we need to own it is ours. God's purpose for our lives to bring the gospel to those who do not know our savior.

But then there's a third factor that helped the early church and will help us today to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God, and we encounter that as we go on in our story here in verse 9:

And when Jesus had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight and while they're all gazing into heaven as he went. Behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking to the heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven.

You know, the Christian church celebrated this event last week on Ascension Sunday. As Jesus passes into a world beyond our human comprehension, the significance of this is much more than Jesus' God just telling Jesus, son, it's time to come home. I mean, if we're going to accomplish God's big purpose for us. Then we not only need the Holy Spirit working in and through us. We also need a promise, a hope that will spur us on. And that's what God gives us here.

I mean, can you picture these guys. I mean they're looking up to heaven as Jesus is. And finally he's out of sight. And I can just sort of see them they're standing with their mouths open in shock. And possibly some worried frowns on their face. What's going on here? I mean things are changing rapidly. A chapter of Christian history is closing. Jesus would no longer be walking physically on this earth, at least not for a while.

But as we read these verses, as we picture all this in our mind, I also think of not just what happened on that day but also what's going to happen. You see, guys, the Bible doesn't just point us back in time in history. It doesn't just speak of Jesus' royal enthronement that God's right hand here as being the indispensable prerequisite for his bestowing the Holy Spirit on his people. What we have just read is a bold and a clear promise of hope. Our living ascended reigning Christ is active today in our lives and in the lives of our church. And it points us towards a future. As the angels declare:

this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Guys, we've got a promise here. Jesus is coming back. I mean, the earth doesn't just go on and on and on into oblivion. The earth, Jesus is coming back. And that should give each of us hope. I mean that should give us a reason to keep going and serving God even when the cost is high. There is more to life than the here and now. When Jesus returns, every sacrifice that we have made, every difficulty that we face because of our faith. It'll be worth it.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 4 about this. Paul says:

the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna guess you're a lot like me. There are times that I need that encouragement. I need to know that it's not gonna just keep going this way. I need to know that God's still in charge and that Christ is coming back. I need to know that it's worth it to make the sacrifices sometimes we do as Christians. And hey, I gotta tell you we've got it easy. Compared to brothers and sisters in other parts of our world who pay a much higher price than serving God, Open Doors Ministry, a group that monitors Christian activity, estimates about 5600 Christians are slaughtered each year because of their faith. Another 6000 incarcerated, another 4000 kidnapped, over 5000 churches and religious buildings destroyed.

Guys, this side of eternity, God does not promise an easy path, but our eyes are on something far greater than the struggles that we experience. They're on the return of Christ, they're on heaven, and that's what keeps us going. We need hope that will spur us on. We need to understand our purpose here in life. And we need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us. And that's what Jesus gives us.

So what do we do with it? How do you respond to what you've heard this morning from God's word? Well, for some of us. There's one more thing that we need to do. And that can be your response. We need a relationship with Jesus. Friends, that's where it all starts the power of God's spirit enabling us, the purpose of making an eternal difference in the lives of others, the hope of heaven spurring us on that only happens when you've stepped across that line of faith, when you've put your trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and give you a new life, friends, that is only, that's the only time that we will have that power and purpose and hope of living for God. I mean, without it we don't have those things.

So have you done that? Are you a Christian believer? Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ to be your Lord and savior? That's where it starts. And friends, if you haven't already made that decision, then why not start today? I mean, talk with me, talk with Pastor Jonathan, talk with whomever invited you to be here this morning. Pray, come forward to pray with our prayer team and talk to them about it.

And then once you've stepped across that line of faith. I encourage you. Invite God's spirit, the Holy Spirit, to show you why you're on this earth. And there's a reason you're breathing today. God has a purpose for you. And so ask God what his purpose is for your life. Ask him to show you, to lead you forward in this and in faith step out in the power of the Holy Spirit and allow God to work through you. As you impact your world for him. That's what we've got to look forward to, but there's decisions we need to make. Let's pray about that.

Father, here we are. We need we need your spirit. I mean, not just that your spirit is within us because we made this decision, but we need to lean upon your spirit. We need to listen to your Holy Spirit as you nudge us, as you empower us, as you encourage us, as you give us the words to say in a difficult situation, as you give us a resolve to say no to a temptation that we've been falling prey to. We need your Holy Spirit at work. We need to allow you to work within us, and we need to lean heavily upon you. Lord, help us to do that. And help us first of all, we haven't yet to step across that line of faith. Make a decision to be your follower. To trust you as our Lord and Savior, to forgive our sins, to give us new life. Lord, we need that as well. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for what you have for us. Lord, may we have indeed the power and the understanding of purpose and the hope to live boldly for you each day. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.