THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

John 14:15-27; Acts 1:1-5

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

April 17, 2005

Many years ago, an inquirer from the religion of Hinduism came to a Bishop in the Church of India.

Apparently, this person had read the New Testament all on his own. The more he had read, the more fascinated he was with Christ. As he read the Gospels, he felt as if he’d entered into a brand new world.

As he put it: “In the Gospels it was Jesus, His works, and His suffering. In the Acts, what the disciples did and thought and taught had taken the place that Christ had occupied. The Church continued where Jesus had left off at His death.” The response of the inquirer to all of this was then quite emphatic: “I must belong to the Church that carries on the life of Christ!”

William Barclay, who tells this story, suggests to us that the New Testament Book of Acts is precisely that: “The Book of Acts tells of the Church that carries on the life of Christ.” [i] In a similar way, John Stott also suggests this title: “The Continuing Words and Deeds of Jesus by His Spirit through His Apostles.” [ii]

THE BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK.

The author of this New Testament book may well have agreed with this title. The author is Luke, a Gentile physician and companion of Paul on his second and third missionary journeys, as well as on the voyage to Rome for Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome.

Luke was a highly educated and highly trained individual, indicated by the intensive research that was necessary and his impressive style of writing. As for the date of the writing of the book, we cannot be too precise. But since Luke did not mention Paul’s death which occurred around 68 A.D. in Rome under Nero, it is largely believed that Luke wrote this book before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Luke wrote this book and the Gospel that bears his name largely due to a man named Theophilus. We know very little about him, other than his being a Gentile benefactor who provided a living for Luke, so that he could do the necessary research and the writing of the Gospel and the Book of Acts.

Luke is careful in reporting the facts regarding the development of the early Church. In some cases, the reporting is based upon information gathered from the Apostles themselves. In many cases, information comes from Luke’s own personal, first-hand account.

Some have called the Book of Acts, “The Acts of the Apostles,” even though Luke traces mostly the ministries of Peter and Paul. Others have called this New Testament book, “The Acts of the Holy Spirit,” largely because, right from the very beginning, the Church was enabled to give witness to all the world by the presence and power of God the Holy Spirit.

We would do well to keep this in mind throughout our study of Acts. In fact, this is even made quite clear to us in the opening verses of the very first chapter.

THE OPENING VERSES OF CHAPTER ONE.

In these verses, Luke presents us with the closing days of Jesus’ earthly ministry with His disciples. The time from the resurrection to the ascension was a period of 40 days and Jesus used this time period well. This period of time was filled with visitations and appearances by the Risen Lord, proving again and again that He was alive.

During this time, Jesus also taught them about the Kingdom of God. “On one occasion, while He was eating with them,” Luke reports, “He gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” From chapter two, we learn that this indeed occurred, ten days later on the Day of Pentecost, when God the Holy Spirit descended upon all the believers.

Now, in these brief verses, we learn at least two crucial lessons for our life in Christ. Each of these lessons should be experienced by every one of us, as we seek to follow Christ in our own day and time.

I

GOD’S PROMISES CAN BE TRUSTED AND SHOULD BE TRUSTED.

With regard to the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus spoke of “the gift my Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about.”

In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit came in power only upon certain distinct individuals. These would include people like Moses, the delivering judges of Israel like Samson, a great king like David, or a mighty prophet like Isaiah.

But God also promised a New Covenant in Christ, when the Holy Spirit would come upon all believers. In the prophecy of Joel, for example, the LORD promises this: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” [iii]

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He also spoke of this promise. In the Upper Room on the night just before His arrest, Jesus spoke to His disciples of “another Counselor.” As Jesus had been their Paraclete, their Helper, Comforter, and Guide, so would He, the Holy Spirit, be. As the “Spirit of truth,” the Holy Spirit would dwell within them, teaching them, and reminding them of all Jesus had said.

We know today how God the Father fulfilled this very promise through His Son on the Day of Pentecost. We can look back upon that occasion and marvel at what happened in bringing forth the Holy Spirit to dwell within God’s people.

We can also look today at ourselves as Christian believers and rejoice in this promise fulfilled, as the Holy Spirit dwells within us. And in a larger sense, we can also rejoice that God’s promises can be trusted, because the God who made them can be trusted!

Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the 19^th century, relied heavily upon all the promises of God. His congregation of 6,000 every Sunday faced many hardships, as did he. He was the butt of cruel jokes in the media, was scorned by liberal pastors, faced chronic depression, had a wife with a chronic illness, and he himself was in terrible pain from gout in the last 20 years of his life.

But Spurgeon drew from a strength far greater than his own and he called his congregation to do no less than the same, by trusting in God’s gracious promises. He called them to reflect on God’s character, and then to lean heavily upon His promises. “The pith, the essence of faith,” Spurgeon said, “lies in this – a casting oneself on the promise.”

In his book, The Check Book of the Bank of Faith, Spurgeon wrote:

My brethren, God is good. He will not forsake you: He will bear you through. There is a promise prepared for your present emergencies; and if you will believe and plead it at the mercy-seat through Jesus Christ, you shall see the hand of the Lord stretched out to help you. Everything else will fail, but His word never will. He has been to me so faithful in countless instances that I must encourage you to trust Him. [iv]

I believe God is faithful in countless instances in all of our lives, if we would take the time to look. Yes, it is one thing to say that we believe the promises, but in the thick of those persistent challenges, we also know it can be difficult for us to trust God. And yet, as we sing this morning as if we are “Standing on the Promises”, we ought to renew our determination to do just that, for the reason that God’s promises can be trusted, and should be trusted!

II

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY IN US IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

The disciples were hardly what we might call “religious professionals.” Most of them were rough-hewn fishermen. But they had spent three intimate years with Jesus during His earthly ministry. They were eyewitnesses to the most astounding miracles the world had ever seen. They had been captivated by such authoritative teaching unknown before that time. And they had seen not only the devastation of death in the crucifixion of Jesus, but the destruction of death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

How ready those disciples must have been to tell all the world the Good News …only to hear the Risen Lord tell them to wait … to hold on …for they were not ready after all, even though perhaps they thought they were. In the Gospel of Luke we have these parting words of the Master: “You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised: but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” [v] And in our passage, it is again commanded: “Wait!”

This is quite helpful for us to remember in a 21^st century filled with the greatest technological achievements ever thought possible, and in our country at least, some of greatest personal advantages one could ever hope for. The temptation then is to have the attitude that we can do it all … on our own. We can change our selves and we can change the world.

But in spite of all these resources at hand, the Bible reminds us:

“The tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.” [vi] and

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” [vii] and

“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” [viii]

In addition to all this, there is “the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.” [ix]

I could go on, but I probably don’t have to. To speak the truth, to have a Christ-like heart, to resist our Enemy, and to be faithful in a faith-less world, we need the Holy Spirit! For a powerful transformation of our own personal lives, as well as to give faithful witness to the world, we need the Holy Spirit! We simply cannot live the Christian life on our own, without the presence and power of God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us!

Speaking about the personal dimension of our need for the Holy Spirit, Billy Graham has written this:

(The Holy Spirit) is the source of power who meets our need to escape from the miserable weakness that grips us. He gives us the power to be truly good. If we are to live a life of sanity in our modern world, if we wish to be men and women who can live victoriously, we need this two-sided gift God has offered us: first, the work of the Son of God for us; second, the work of the Spirit of God in us. In this way God has answered mankind’s two great cries: the cry for forgiveness and the cry for goodness. [x]

Billy Graham has also told of his own need for the Holy Spirit in his witness for Christ, which is so important for us to hear. So many people think that leaders in the Church are born with all they need, as charismatic figures destined to be in leadership. But this is absolutely false!

In 1954, when sailing to England for a crusade, Dr. Graham tells us that he found himself in a time of intense spiritual warfare. He had a strong sense of demonic oppression, as well as an intimidating sense of total personal inadequacy.

As he went into a state of depression, he also went to the Lord in prayer unceasingly. Finally, in a prayer meeting with his wife Ruth and some of his colleagues, a break came.

As I wept before the Lord, I was filled with deep assurance that power belonged to God and He was faithful. I had been baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ when I was saved, but I believe God gave me a special anointing on the way to England. From that moment on I was confident that God the Holy Spirit was in control for the task of the 1954 Crusade in London. That proved true. [xi]

As we begin our study of the Book of Acts, we cannot help but notice these two lessons. First of all, God’s promises can be trusted and should be trusted. Secondly, the Holy Spirit’s ministry in us is absolutely necessary.

May we not only learn these lessons, but live these lessons, as God’s people in this day and time!