Week 9 - Day 2
THE STORY
Mission
MISSION POWER
Acts 10:36-38 (NLT)
This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
According to this passage, by whose power did Jesus carry out His Mission after His Baptism?
John 20:21 (NET)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.”
If the Father sent Jesus on His Mission anointed with the Person and the power of the Holy Spirit, how do you think Jesus now sends us on our Mission with?
Last week we looked at Jesus’ Ascension. Since He ascended, Jesus is reigning over the world, praying for His people and preparing an eternal place for them. But there was an important promise that He had to keep when He got back to heaven.
Acts 1:4-8 (NIV)
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, 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.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Why does Jesus say wait in Jerusalem?
For what purpose or Mission do we need the power of the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:1-24; 33 (NIV)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
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 heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Have someone retell these passages in their own words. Just the highlights will do.
What stands out to you in these passages?
What do these passages say about God (The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit)?
What do these passages say about people, including ourselves?
What do these passages say about the life God invites us to live?
Digging Deeper
What was it like when Jesus poured out the Spirit on His followers?
After His Baptism, Jesus carried out His Mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. As believers in Jesus, Jesus baptizes us with the Spirit to carry out our Mission. As Jesus said: Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you. If Jesus is the Anointed One, we are now His anointed ones?
Randy Fisk in The Presence, Power and Heart of God, p. 26
Instead of one person, Jesus—speaking His powerful words and doing His awesome works—suddenly Jesus begins to act via the Holy Spirit through every believer. This initiates what has to be one of the devil’s worst nightmares: instead of one Jesus at work, there are now millions and millions of “Jesuses” walking around, doing what He did!
What is your reaction to this quote?
In light of what you have discovered through the Bible readings and your personal reflections, how will you respond? Finish this sentence: I will …