You will receive power...

Then the disciples gathered around Jesus 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.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:6-11

“So, did you mark Ascension Day in any way?”

“Pardon?”

“Ascension Day – it was last Thursday.”

“Fraid not – never really thought about it, to be honest. Tell me more.”

“Well, it’s the day, always a Thursday, when the church remembers how the risen Jesus returned to heaven. Why not have a look at Acts 1:1-11?”

That’s a made-up conversation, of course. But perhaps you can identify with it. Most Christians, one suspects, simply never notice Ascension Day, unless they happen to belong to a church which takes seriously matters of liturgy and the historic church calendar.

It falls on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday, the day when Christians traditionally rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. And it’s ten days before Whit Sunday (28 May this year), when we remember the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the newly-born church in Jerusalem.

It marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry… birth; circumcision; baptism; three or so years of teaching, preaching and miraculous deeds; crucifixion; resurrection – and all now crowned by ascension, a remarkable supernatural event when “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9).

It marked the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, yes. But that doesn’t mean he had finished with this poor, groaning world. Far from it. He had still a threefold ministry to fulfil, each part of which is vitally important…

First, a one-off event: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

This is described in Acts 2, one of the Bible’s most dramatic, exciting and wonderful chapters, sometimes referred to as “the birthday of the church”.

Earlier in Acts 1 Jesus had given his disciples the promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”. As if to say: So far you know only the water-baptism of John the Baptist, but “in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit”. And Acts 2 describes that spectacular baptism, linking it with the words of the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32).

It's been said that, regarding Pentecost, Christians fall into two distinct categories. That, I’m sure, is an over-simplification. But I think there’s truth in it.

There are those who take it almost too seriously (if indeed that’s possible). I heard of a preacher once who liked to say that Acts 2 was always the first part of his Bible to fall out – he preached on it so often. To me that suggested a lack of balance in Christian teaching. Certainly, Pentecost is a vital part of scripture – but more so than Good Friday? or Easter Sunday? or the Sermon on the Mount? or 1 Corinthians 13? or… well, where does one stop?

But on the other hand there are Christians who almost seem to run scared of Pentecost. Perhaps they are nervous about the possibility of various forms of excess that we associate (rightly or wrongly) with Pentecostalism or the charismatic renewal.

This is desperately sad, for while God never repeats himself - so there will never be another Acts 2 in any precise sense - is it not absolutely clear that a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the modern church’s greatest need? Where, today, is our power? Where is our cutting edge? Where is our evangelistic thrust? Personally I am no charismatic, but that doesn’t mean I have the slightest inhibitions about praying, “Oh God, baptise your church afresh in the Holy Spirit!” Whatever exact form the answer to that prayer might take, can it be anything but wonderful?

May that be our prayer, then - and may God answer it exactly as he sees fit, not according to our pre-conceived ideas!

And if I can direct an appeal to my fellow-preachers… Please, make sure to prepare a big, fat, meaty sermon on Acts 2 for Whit Sunday, May 28! – the transformation, the excitement, the wonderment, the refreshment, the sheer power!

I said earlier that Jesus’ ministry after his ascension was three-fold, but I find I’m running out of space with two still to go. The second is an on-going ministry: intercessory prayer. And the third is in fact not so much a ministry as a further one-off event: his final return in glory. But I’ll have to come back to them next time. Please join me!

Come, Holy Spirit, to cleanse and renew us;/ Purge us of evil and fill us with power;/ Thus shall the waters of healing flow through us;/ So may revival be born in this hour. Amen!   R D Browne