The Gift of Prophecy

Summary: Declaring the praises of God is a great responsibility and the Holy Spirit equips us to accomplish that task.  Let us not be distracted from the True Gift and so miss accomplishing our commission!

Scripture focus: Acts 5:38-42

Date: Sunday, 27 June 2010 (St John’s Sutherland, 7pm)

How Does the Holy Spirit Enable Witnessing?

In the Christian Church, regardless of culture and location in the world, we mark and celebrate many significant days on our calendars of worship.  Christmas and Easter are the two most obvious and most common days.  However, let us remember that some Christian communities also celebrate The Baptism of Jesus, The Epiphany of Jesus, The Transfiguration of Jesus and The Ascension of Jesus, just to name a few special days for worship.  All of these celebrations correspond to significant events in the life of Jesus and try, as far as is possible, to correspond to the actual day of those events.

Fifty days after Jesus’ death and resurrection forms the basis for another special day for worship.  We know that day as The Day of Pentecost.  We are encouraged to celebrate that day because, above all else, Pentecost marks the receipt of a great gift from God: the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The gift of the Holy Spirit is received by us when we welcome, by faith, the presence and power of the Spirit of God into our life.  We, who live after the day of Pentecost, have therefore been blessed in a way far beyond what we can imagine and, unfortunately, far beyond what we actually realise in our daily lives.

This is why it is good for us to go back and reflect on how the first Christians received the Holy Spirit and what difference that gift made in their individual lives and in the life of those first churches.  Perhaps we may be inspired to release the Spirit even further in our own lives.

The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was promised by God because God intended that Spirit to help us to realise the plans and purposes of God for us: that we would be reconciled to God; to live whole, healthy and holy lives; and, that we would be God’s witnesses in the world so as to participate in his mission of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19).

Last week we looked at how the Holy Spirit guides sinners to faith in Jesus and how she guides the followers of Jesus into maturity in their knowledge and faithful lifestyle.  It would be so great if that was the point at which all that was expected of us finished —we can easily accept and enjoy the power of the Holy Spirit to live the free, abundant and eternal life that Jesus gives.  Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, that is not all that is expected of us.  Indeed, Jesus declared, “you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth” (Ac 1:8).  Tonight, we are going to rediscover just how much of a joy it is to share our faith, especially when we allow the Holy Spirit to move through us to touch another person with faith in Jesus.

The Teaching

For the more active and assertive among us, accepting the commission to be Jesus’ witnesses is not at all a daunting task.  For those more thoughtful, sensitive and introvertive, the mere idea is enough to cause the outbreak of hives!  But those responses, however, assume that the ability to be Jesus’ witnesses resides within us and that couldn’t be further from the truth.  It is when we act out of our own courage and ability alone that we tend to fail and end up terribly disappointed, apathetic and resign from the mission altogether.

I know that you’ve all heard of the commission Jesus laid upon all his followers, at his ascension, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations [...]’” (Mt 28:18–20)  Interestingly, we can take a step back from that monumental event and see this commission at work even from Jesus’ first resurrection breath: when Mary first witnessed Jesus outside his tomb, he said to her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.  Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (Jn 20:17)  Not only did Jesus give this commission to a woman, which was then completely unheard of and unimaginable —thereby bolstering the point that the commission is given to every follower of Jesus— but it was practically the first thing that he said upon his resurrection.  It seems to me that this point bolsters the importance of being Jesus’ witnesses in the world.

Anyway, the first Christians understood the importance of this mission and accepted it faithfully.  However, we miss the point if we assume that they just accepted this mission with a sense of resigned duty.  They were compelled to participate in this mission of reconciliation by sharing their faith because of the joy that their faith inspired in them.

Yet, they very quickly encountered opposition to their mission.  What impresses me so much about their attitude and actions in response, however, is their quick acceptance of the need for the Holy Spirit to work in and through them, even to the point of speaking through them:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer —at three in the afternoon.  (Acts 3:1)

No big deal, eh?  They were going to gather for prayer.  As they approached the entrance, however, a beggar asked them for money.

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.  (Acts 3:6, 8 )

Fantastic!  Well, not everyone thought so:

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.  (Acts 4:1–3)

The next day, Peter and John were brought before the religious and political authorities to account for their words, in teaching the people about Jesus, and their actions, in healing the man.  Peter and John boldly testified to their faith in Jesus, by the Spirit (Ac 4:8-21).  They were ordered by the religious and political leaders to stop teaching others about Jesus; yet, afterwards, Peter and John, with other Christians, made the following prayer:

Now, Lord, consider [the threats of these leaders among the people] and enable [us] your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. (Acts 4:29–30)

It seems significant to me that at no point in this process did these first Christians and Christian leaders feel as if they were exerting their own power in either the healing or the preaching.  On the contrary, they recognised their incapacity for the task of being Jesus’ witnesses and prayed for the Spirit to enable them.

If only the threats of those religious and political leaders had remained empty words.  Unfortunately, they did not because it is written that, just a little while later, “they called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” (Ac 5:40).

Now, being the reasonable and civilised contemporary persons that we are, we would think that would have been the end of the mission of those first followers of Jesus.  On the contrary,

The apostles left [the court of the religious and political leaders], rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the [name of Jesus].  Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:41–42)

Those first Christians asked for the words to speak and the power to speak those words in the face of any opposition.  What did they get?  The Holy Spirit?

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from [other religious and political leaders] who began to argue with Stephen.  But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. (Acts 6:8–10)

Fantastic!  Here was a follower of Jesus who was filled with the Holy Spirit and against whom the critics of Jesus, within the Jewish tradition, could not argue.  Even more than this,

While Paul was waiting for [his friends] in Athens [... he was brought] to a meeting of the Areopagus, [the local academic and administrative council], where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?”

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! [...]” (Acts 17:16, 19, 22a)

Peter and John, Stephen, Paul and others … these first followers of Jesus started off as ‘regular Joes’; but, once they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they suddenly had the courage to speak on behalf of Jesus in the face of some very significant opposition.  They became capable of sharing their faith with a variety of people and to share the heart of God (i.e. prophecy) in a variety of situations.  Yet, in doing so, they had no doubt that the Spirit was speaking in them, through them and with them in each and every one of those situations.  Thus, they spoke out even more confidently.  Might we catch that inspiration for ourselves and for our church!

The Power

The fact is, however, that when Jesus informed his followers that they would be his witnesses throughout the known world, he also said that they would receive “power”, and that power was expressed through them with more than words.  Those first Christians became capable of so much more.

When Peter and John were approached by that beggar, outside of the temple, and they healed his disability, it is written,

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees [...] were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and [...] put them in jail until the next day.  But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law [...] had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  (Acts 4:1–10)

The Holy Spirit enabled Peter and John to perform “an act of kindness”, by their own account.  It was not as if they did so to preach to him because, as Jesus earlier taught them himself, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.” (Jn 9:4)  In other words, acts of kindness and senseless beauty display and witness to the glory of God to the world (cf. Jn 9:3).

In another example, the apostle Paul was travelling around the island of Cyprus when a sorcerer tried to turn the local authorities against the apostle.  To this man, Paul uttered the following curse, under the direction of the Holy Spirit,

“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!  You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.  Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?  Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”  Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.  When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (Ac 13:10–12)

Now, I wouldn’t recommend anyone here uttering curses against anyone, unless directed otherwise by none other than God himself.  I do want you to notice the power of God displayed through Paul and the response, not to that power, but to the teaching about Jesus.  The miracle created an interest and an opportunity for someone to discover faith in Jesus —in this case, a local political leader.

Everywhere they went, the words of the apostles and early Christians about Jesus, were accompanied by works, both natural and supernatural.

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and [taught about Jesus] there.  When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.  With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed.  So there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:5–8)

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (Acts 19:11–12)

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people [...] more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. (Acts 5:12–16)

The early Christians became known for their teaching and for their benevolence: they cared for the people.  The people responded not only to the teaching about Jesus, but came to expect that the early Christians would do good works among them.  The power of God was displayed in their lives such that they fulfilled the teaching of Jesus when he said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16).  In this way too, they truly became witnesses of Jesus throughout the known world and beyond.

May that same power be evident in us and our church.  May we become known for our good works that people may respond also to us with faith in God.

The “Gifts”

At this point, I am sure many of you are wondering, “What about the gifts, the spiritual gifts spoken of by Paul?”

When Peter gave his sermon on the day of Pentecost, he boldly declared,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38–39)

He interpreted the miraculous events of that day as being fulfilment of prophecy given through Joel:

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people [...] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below [...] And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:17–21)

What we can draw from all of this is that, from the day of Pentecost onwards, where the Holy Spirit is, the glory and power of God will be displayed.  That glory and power will be displayed specifically for the purposes of the ministry of reconciliation.  Spiritual gifts then are things, events or individuals who serve as an instrument of the Spirit, manifesting or embodying the Spirit, acting as a concrete expression of grace or as a means of grace.¹

Those “gifts” though are never for the direct benefit of the individual who receives them and who, it is intended, will use them.  The recipient will benefit, but only ever indirectly.  Or, put another way, spiritual gifts are always God’s initiative and action, to be used for his purposes alone.  The person who if faithful and spiritually open, they are the ones who receive such gifts and only insofar as they remain open to God will they continue to be recipients and agents of those gifts.

The fact is that, from our perspective, the real gift with which we are to be concerned is the presence of the Holy Spirit.  In our increasing and maturing faithfulness, God is able to show us more and more what life looks like lived by and with his Spirit, life as it was always meant to be lived with our Creator —free, abundant and eternal.  When the Spirit is in and with us, she will express and manifest herself in ways appropriate to us and appropriate to the situation in which we are to act.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared as a mighty wind and tongues of fire that descended on the first disciples of Jesus (Ac 2:1-4); at the church at Antioch, the Spirit moved a prophet to declare that Paul and Barnabas should be commissioned by the church to go on missionary journeys (Ac 13:1-3).  That message only came through because the congregation at Antioch were “worshipping the Lord and fasting”.  How will the Spirit choose to express herself and accomplish God’s mission through you?  Would you be ready for such?

There is so much more that can be said about spiritual gifts —and one day we will explore them together in more detail.  But for now let us keep in mind that it is the gift of the Holy Spirit with which we should be concerned and not some benefit or power from her that we can control (1 Cor 13:1-3).  Those expressions of God’s grace are always expressed within and for the good of the believing community (1 Cor 12:7).  All believing and faithful followers of Jesus are filled with the Spirit, and as we grow in openness to and dependance on the Spirit, we will inevitably manifest the Spirit in some way (Rom 8:9, 14) to the glory of God and for the purposes of his Kingdom.  As the famous Dwight L. Moody declared,

You might as well try to hear without ears, or breathe without lungs, as try to live a Christian life without the Spirit of God in your heart. (D. L. Moody)²

And that is how it should be.

As an aside, let me add the following story about Dwight L. Moody, the Billy Graham of the late 1800′s, who led his famous ministry from Chicago,

A group of pastors were discussing the possibility of having D. L. Moody serve as an evangelist at a city-wide evangelistic campaign. One minister was reluctant to have Moody speak. “Why Moody?” he asked. “Does he have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”

The question was followed by a hushed silence. Finally another man spoke up and said, “No, Moody does not have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit does have a monopoly on D. L. Moody.”³

May that be said of us as we are seen to live in and through the power of the Spirit.

Conclusion

What a joy it is to know the good news about Jesus.  And, as those who are the recipients of that good news, we are also called and equipped to share that good news to the world.  Jesus promised us power to be his witnesses throughout the world: power to speak up and out, power to demonstrate the truth and glory of that good news, power to both live in and with God our Creator.  I cannot imagine a greater gift than knowing that God trusts me enough to share with me his precious Holy Spirit.

I want more of the Holy Spirit so that I can become more of what God intended for me and can more perfectly reflect his glory to others, that they too may know God’s glory and grace.  I am happy to be used in whatever way the Spirit sees fit, to be useful for the Kingdom.  If I am to heal, let me heal; if I am to preach, let me preach; if I am to give more of my time and money, let me give; if I am to go the farthest side of the world, from my home, then let me do so faithfully.  Who knows what may become of us in the hands of God, under the guidance of his Holy Spirit?  Would it really matter because whatever God had in store would always be better than anything that we could dream for ourselves!

May we follow the wise words of the apostle Peter and “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Pe 3:15).  If sharing our faith is to include a demonstration of God’s power, let it be so even now.

Let us reaffirm our desire for the Spirit of God to be in our life and in our church.  Let us pray together in unison our theme prayer:

O Spirit of God, mighty river,
flow over me, in me, through me.

O Spirit of God, cleanse me,
purify the channels of my life.

O Spirit of God, bear me along
with your flood of life-giving service.

O Spirit of God, mighty river,
bear me down to the ocean,
the ocean of thy love.

O Spirit of God, mighty fire,
glow in me, burn in me,
until your radiance fills my soul.

O Spirit of God, mighty fire,
may your light illuminate my mind.

O Spirit of God, mighty fire,
may your heat consume my will
until I burn for you.
May the flames of your love
ever blaze upon the altar of my heart.

O Spirit of God, mighty river,
flow over me, in me, through me. (Charles Devanesan, 1994)

Endnotes

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