THE POWER OF PENTECOST

Ten days after his ascension Jesus made his presence felt on the earth by baptising a small group of believers with the Holy Spirit. That was in effect a phenomenal release of power, of enabling. It transformed that group and gave it such an impetus in witness that within a week it had grown from 120 persons to thousands. No wonder that baptism was signified by a gale-like wind! Thank God this is not just history, but the first example of a ministry of Jesus which is still very much with us. It is released today, as it was in the apostle’s time, by taking hold of the promise of the Spirit (which is timeless) through prayer. The history of the church bears abundant testimony to the reality of that ongoing ministry.
Without that impetus the church would never have got off the ground. The 3,000 that were converted on the Day of Pentecost were first brought together by the extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit and then brought under devastating conviction of sin by the anointed preaching of Peter. The book of Acts goes on from there to relate the history of some thirty years of Holy Spirit empowered activity among the first generation of Christians. That activity spread the gospel all around the Mediterranean world, raised many powerful churches in Gentile lands and saw the emergence of very strong leadership in those churches. It was a witness carried out with great boldness in the face of constant persecution. It was a witness of powerful preaching, miraculous signs, visions, dreams, healings, angelic visitations and much moral restoration among Jew and Gentile alike. It was a Holy Spirit ministry.
Whatever else may come in the 21st century we can be sure of one thing: Jesus will continue to pour out his Spirit on his people in this fashion. He will continue to build up his church, he will work until the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, until the gospel is preached throughout the whole world and then he will bring in the “end”. The call on the church is to continue to believe the “promise of the Spirit” and to wait on the Lord for its constant fulfilment. This coming Pentecost Sunday is marked as a “Global Day of Prayer” when the church world-wide will look for renewed “Pentecosts”. What a wonderful prospect!


Bob


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THE SEAT OF POWER

At the moment it’s all talk about who will get the place of political power in the nation. No one knows which way it will go, a real cliff-hanger! Perhaps that is a good moment to reflect on the fact that Ascension Day falls this week.
What is the connection? Well, Ascension Day is essentially about Jesus taking up a place of “all power and authority, in heaven and on earth”, about Jesus being received “at the right hand of the Father”, about the King receiving his rightful position on the throne of God. Ascension is all about the rule and government of Jesus. And there is a very human side to it, for the ascension was very much a human ascension. It was not a vision or a symbolic idea, but a real ascension by a fully human Jesus, albeit in a resurrection body, to a position of the utmost authority.
If you ask anyone about the “ministry” of Jesus they are almost certain to think of him walking about Galilee. That was the time when he was active in the world. Ask about his ascension and the more likely reaction is that that was the time when he retired from the scene, his ministry having finished. It is that response that cries out to be radically changed. The fact is that he is as active in ministry from his throne as ever he was on earth. The ascension, in fact, compels us to examine his present ministry. There is a desperate need for us to do that and to recognise Jesus is very much at work in our modern world.
One aspect of that present ministry is clearly conveyed by the book of Revelation. There we see him as the Lamb in the midst of the Throne (Rev. 5). There we see the purposes of God symbolised by a book of writing in the hand of God, and there we see that only one person has the authority to open that book and bring about those purposes – that is the Lamb. And that is precisely what revelation portrays: Jesus, the Lamb, unlocking the seals which kept the book closed. In other words he is unfolding the future history of the world; he brings about his Father’s will. That is his present ministry (or part of it).
The resultant scenarios are anything but pleasant; war, famine, death, persecution and natural catastrophe. One could hardly quarrel with such an incredibly accurate picture of the world’s progress! But he’s in control and conquering evil. We should not quarrel with that either. He will fulfil all prophecy, he will bring in his kingdom, he will restore peace and redeem humanity and its world. He will not default!

All this is a very necessary corrective to the earthly power scrambles we are obliged to witness. Stability is in Jesus.

Bob


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“IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!”

This famous remark, “It’s the economy, stupid!” was the remark that hung in Bill Clinton’s campaign office when he defeated George Bush in the 1992 campaign for the American presidency. It’s generally acknowledged that by putting this remark at the centre of his election strategy and sticking to it, Clinton really touched the thing that mattered for most. He got to the heart of things, and that ensured his success. The remark has resurfaced in the current British election, and its importance can scarcely be denied in the current economic chaos: the economy is the key to all else.
That is, of course, if we are dealing purely in human wisdom. The ordinary person trying to make a steady way in life with home and family, the marginalised bottom of the pile person, the person over committed to debt and the already over fat banking profiteer look at money issues above all else. Money seems to be utterly central. Who’s really got the answers to the current money problems? – that’s what we want to know.
But money (though the economic problems have to be faced) is not actually the real problem. The real problem is not managing money, but managing people! We have had scenes over the last two decades of the most unbelievable selfish greed among those who ought to have taken responsibility for national institutions, including the banks – a one million pound bonus sets up a lust for more and more. We have had scenes in which the rank and file of us all have changed from gratitude for what we have got to a rabid demand that we have a right virtually to everything, a demand unfortunately egged on by a moribund democratic process, a kind of power by popular plebiscite. We have virtually all finished up in debt, and facing a very bleak future. Add to this soaring crime and corruption and we have a scenario in which humanity has got itself into a devastating mess. Humanity is the central problem. It believes, it trusts it can get itself out of it. The prognosis is not good.
It’s all, actually, a big “wake-up” call to humanity. Somewhere, some how, some moral fibre has got to be rediscovered, some restoration of institutions that inculcate that moral fibre have to become our first priority. Or more chaos will ensue! Not much talk of that in the hustings!
“It’s the economy, stupid!” Not really! A more realistic slogan would be, “It’s humanity, stupid!”. The problem with the economy is very, very difficult. The problem with humanity is, unfortunately, impossible for humanity – only its Creator can put that right!

Bob


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