I recently came across a story that was action-packed. It had conspiracy and intrigue and ambush. There were hostile confrontations and fierce conflicts sometimes to the death, rioting lynch mobs and personal violence. This breath-taking story is complete with shipwreck and venomous serpents, two successful jailbreaks, famine and earthquake, crime and punishment. Do you think I read a great novel? Was it the latest installment of the Mission Impossible series? It was none of these.
What was it? Would you believe that it is found in the Bible? In fact, all of that and more is confined to 80 pages that make up the New Testament book of Acts. This is the short for the "Acts of the Apostles." It makes up the second part of the book of Luke. The gospel of Luke records the story of Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection. Luke picks up the story just before Jesus ascends to heaven after the resurrection and tells the story of those first believers. He gives us our only look into the first days of the church and the beginning of its life and mission.
We are going to spend the next several months going through this amazing book. It is relevant to us because it is a book of beginnings. We know from experience that when things start well, they go smoother. We are at the beginning of a new year, which is a time for so many people to make a fresh start in some aspect of their lives, whether getting in shape, eating better, no procrastination, or anything else. This book will help us make a better start.
This book is also relevant to us as a church, for we are at the beginning. We are a new church and we need to begin well. While I was at my last church, they celebrated 175 years of being in existence. They have a specific culture in that church that governs their programs, their expectations, their outlook, and their hopes and dreams. Much of that culture can only be changed with the greatest of effort and some degree of turmoil. The longer a church exists the more set becomes its culture. This highlights why it is so important for us to set the right culture so that God can use us, both now and 50 years from now. That's why it is important for us to read closely the book of Acts, so we can see God's intention for a new church.
This is the text.
3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. (NRSV)
What is the context? This is what we need to know to make sense of the text. We need the framework in order to understand what is going on and where it all fits. This is what this text gives us for the whole book of Acts. Let me tell you about the importance of context.
I grew up in Colorado. There are two things about the topography that are immediately apparent. There are mountains in the West and relatively few trees to the east. The reason that there are so few trees is that Colorado gets such a small amount of rain each year that the plains can't support trees, only grasses. These result of these two things is that you can see for miles and miles and miles. There are no trees blocking your view or you go up on a mountain or in the foothills and see over everything. They say that from the top of Pikes Peak, the mountain towering over Colorado Springs, you can see Kansas on a clear day.
Because you can always see the mountains, you can easily get oriented. It is simple to know whether you are traveling north or south, because the mountains are always to the west.
I never realized how true this was until I went to visit Kari in Pennsylvania. I suddenly felt confined and trapped because there were so many trees. I never could tell which direction was which. I wanted to get above the trees to get a sense of where I was and where I was going. I wanted to see the larger landscape. What I wanted was context. This is what we need to know where we are or where we are going.
This is true for our lives and it is true in understanding of passages from the Bible. We need to see the larger context otherwise all of the events and activities go by in a blur and don't seem to mean anything larger.
In the book of Acts, this opening chapter gives us that context. It is a picture framed by the Resurrection of Jesus on the one side and his eventual return on the other. Verse three says,
After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God.
The foundation of all that comes after this is the Resurrection. The start of the Christian life is the resurrection. Many people want to make people out as nothing more than a good teacher. Therefore, they say, what Jesus was really about is setting a good, moral example for us to follow. While this is true, it is far from the whole story.
Here we are at the beginning of this new year, when many of us make resolutions for the new year. We aspire to be better people, better parents, better employees, more healthy, living more balanced lives, and on and on. But if last year's resolutions are any indication, making a new start is much, much more difficult. And this is just in the normal areas of our lives. This doesn't take into account those areas where our desires are out of control or our habits are intrenched. Think about the alcoholic or the person addicted to pain pills, the woman who goes from bad relationship to bad relationship, or the man who can't say no to indulging in pornography, not to mention greed, holding grudges, being resentful and bitter. Why won't these things bow to our will power? Because our will power is not enough. We need power from the outside.
For those who receive Christ, he offers the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the power of the resurrection. To be in Christ is like radical surgery. It is to be recreated from the ground up. It is the ultimate new beginning. The start of the Christian life is the resurrection. This is God's first act of recreating everything and setting the entire creation right. The process has begun. The process will conclude when Christ comes again. Then this renewal of the creation will be brought to completion. So the book of Acts, and the life of every Christian, is lived between the Resurrection of Jesus and his return. The resurrection is the presupposition of all that we do and his return is the completion of it all.
What does it mean for us? It means that, with his power, we can change--really change! Not by our will power, but by the power of the resurrection which is given to us by the Holy Spirit which lives within us. It means that we never have to give up hope. There is no power on earth or in our hearts and minds that is greater than the power of Christ. The power of the resurrection is stronger than the power of death. It is stronger than the power of hate. It is stronger than lust. It is stronger than any laziness. It is stronger than any hurt or pain.
Living between the resurrection and the return is about a new life and a new beginning in us. But, as we said before, it is about more than us. Ultimately, it is about the whole world. What happens between the Resurrection and the Return? The good news about Jesus spreads from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Listen to these words of Jesus from verse 8.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Living a Christian life is not just about what we get out of it, comfort and confidence. It is just as much about a calling. When we receive the gospel in faith we also receive a mission. That mission is to pass on what we have received. The good news is not just for us, but for everyone. Romans tells us that it is God's desire that everyone be saved. We are called to share.
It the verse this sharing is described as being a witness. What does that mean? In our culture, we have been taught to think that it either means going door-to-door and selling religious materials or getting on TV with the gaudiest set you can put together. But it is helpful to go back to the most basic meaning. To be a witness is to tell what you have experienced. If you are supoened in a court case, you are called to tell what you have seen, heard and believe to be true. If you witness an accident, you are expected to tell the police officer what happened. Do you want to know what this might look like? Let me give you one possibility.
A week ago Monday I was in Starbucks, where I tend to do my best work. I think it is because I am surrounded by people, embroiled in their everyday lives. While there, I got into a conversation with a guy over our respective computers, my Apple computer being the preferable one. In the course of the conversation, he saw my book on the Gospel of Acts and so we started to talk about spiritual things. He freely admitted that he was not at all spiritual, partly because he is a scientist and doesn't see the evidence for God. As I just listened and asked questions, he just as freely shared with me that he could see the benefits of having faith, especially when it came to facing death. He described this fear as being absolutely paralyzing, not just at the point of death but all throughout life. Death not only threatens our lives and the lives of our loved ones, it also threatens all meaning in life. If death has the last word, what is the point of it all?
As we continued talking, I shared with him some of the reasons why I believe in Jesus as God's Son. I told him about how Christianity best explains the world, particularly it explains why we humans are capable of producing such goodness, order, and beauty on the one hand, and such selfish evil on the other hand, not to mention our infinite capacity to deceive ourselves and view ourselves as much better than we actually are. I also told him about how Jesus exemplifies the best ethical principle, because on the cross God gave himself to us in love. Only Christianity views love as being at the center of reality, because God is love. These are some of the reasons that I come back to in the face of doubt. We went on to talk about other aspects of Christianity that he didn't understand, particularly how it had far more to do with a relationship with God than with religious rules.
What happened with the conversation? Did he fall on his knees right there in Starbucks and demand to be baptized? No, he didn't, although it gives me a smile to imagine that sight. But he did ask me to recommend some books for him to read as he thought about all of this further. He was really thinking about all of this because he will be enrolling in medical school in the Fall and he is worried that his personal ethical system might not be strong enough to hold up in the face of the human suffering and death that he will face as a doctor.
I want to suggest that what I tried to do was to be a witness. I didn't try to "convert" him, by which I mean to force him to a decision that he wasn't prepared to make. I just did what a witness does--describe what you have seen and believe to be the case. I really believe that what happened on Monday was a divine appointment. I believe that God is at work in that man's life in drawing him to himself. God just wanted me to play a small part. I got the impression that this man had no real interaction with a living, breathing believer. The gospel is more plausible, more believable, when you can talk to a real person who believes it. I also believe that I was specially suited to talk with him, as he was about as highly educated as you can get, and I could speak to him in terms that he understands. I guess I believe that God can even use nerdiness.
Everyone one of us can be a witness for God. You don't need to have an answer to every question that a non-believer might raise. I know that this is an oft-used excuse for why many believers never say anything. It is perfectly fine to say that you just don't know or you will try to find out. I think that some people are more suspect when Christians have all of the answers. Each of us can give an account for our faith. We can say why we believe. We don't need to pressure any one into anything. We can trust that it's God's job to bring people to him. We just need to make ourselves available to be used by him to do it. As I told my Starbucks friend, I was "evangelical" in the sense that I have found the most amazing treasure in Jesus and I just want to share that with everyone I can. I don't want anyone to have to go through life and face death without God. This expresses God's heart as well. He wants everyone to know him and the love that he offers.
I want to read again verse 8, these words of Jesus which he gave to his followers, who were just normal everyday people, with no great religious training:
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Notice the geography. It starts in Jerusalem, the center of God's activity among the Jews. It spreads to Judea, that is, the region around Jerusalem. The gospel is not just for city folk. Then, it moves to Samaria. The Samarians were not full-blooded Jews. The gospel is not just for Jews. Then the gospel spreads to the ends of the earth. The gospel is for everyone! We will come back to this verse in the next weeks as these successive expansions act as an organizing principle for the book of Acts. But the point here is that it is the nature of the gospel to spread and keep spreading.
This is the mission that God has entrusted to every believer--to take his gospel to all people. Now this really is Mission Impossible. Just take an analogy from business. Let's say you have a product that you sold from your local mom-and-pop store and you want to sell it around the world. What strategy would you use? You would probably be well-advised to get a global marketing firm to help you sell your product to very different groups of people. You would need lawyers versed in international law to work through all of the import/export issues. You would be very ill-advised to just gather together your friends around town and put them in charge with scaling up production, managing supply chains, and developing complex financial procedure. You need experienced pros.
But this is exactly what God does. He doesn't entrust his mission to professional speakers, religious scholars or experienced diplomats. He chooses instead to send out those normal, but faithful people who have given their lives to follow him. But he does give them something very important--his Spirit. We will look at this in depth next week.
But for this week, think about someone whose life God has placed you in. What could you do to bear witness to them about what God has done in your life? Could you ask them to come with you to church? Could you tell them a story about how God has come through for you? Could you tell them that you will pray for them, actually do it, and then check back with them? Could you keep an eye out for some chance encounter, or divine appointment, and share with then the good news that has changed your life? I believe that the answer is yes. Yes, you can. And if you do, the other person is not the only one who will benefit.