Power
Sermon
In his book, "How To Know God," Deepak Chopra describes seven levels of fulfillment. Level two is described as "You fulfill your life through success, power, influence, status, and other ego satisfaction." (Page 15). There are many highly successful human beings at this level, for our society sets a high value on the attributes of success, power, influence and status.
Every year in England there are highly publicized cases of parents taking on the local authority because their children have been denied a place at the local school. In some instances parents have actually moved into that area in order to secure their children a place at the school, because that particular school is reckoned to be very good. Naturally parents want the best possible start in life for their children, in order that those children will receive a good education to enable them to compete successfully in the world of work when they grow up. Few would question the desires of those parents or their right to seek the best for their children.
Within our churches there are those who seek to influence and we should thank God for them. Without people who are prepared to exert a certain degree of influence and power, nothing would get done. We need the powerful in all branches of society including the church, and alongside power and influence go success and status.
Perhaps the impression sometimes gained from the gospels is that status and power, influence and success are wrong and somehow shameful. Jesus took his disciples from amongst the powerless in society and frequently clashed with those in positions of power. And when James and John raised the question of status in heaven, Jesus gave them short shrift (Matthew 20:21-23). Yet the gospel story is about power, the power of Jesus Christ.
When people consider Christianity and the Bible, many are only concerned with the question of miracles and whether or not Jesus' miracles really happened. In other words, they are very concerned with the question of power and fascinated by supernatural power. On the day of Pentecost, we see immense supernatural power at work.
Even though they had been with Jesus physically for three years and had then rubbed shoulders for a further six weeks with a live Jesus even though they knew he was dead, the disciples were still a sorry bunch of people. You might suppose that the resurrection would be a stupendous enough miracle to set the whole world on fire, but it didn't seem to do very much for the disciples. On the day of Pentecost they were huddled together in the Upper Room, terrified of the power of the authorities. That power could determine life or death for them and they were very anxious indeed to keep a low profile.
But God had other ideas and God imbued those sad disciples with his own power. The gathered disciples heard the sound of a rushing, mighty wind which filled the house, a clear sign that God's presence was imminent. Back eight centuries earlier, when Elijah had run away from wicked queen Jezebel and was hiding in a cave, God's imminent presence was denoted by a rushing wind, an earthquake and fire, although God himself was actually experienced in the silent whisper which came afterwards (1 Kings 19:11-12).
On this occasion in the upper room, the wind was followed by the appearance of tongues of flame hovering over the head of each disciple. Then came the silence. There was no voice from God, no instructions, but each disciple was filled with God's spirit and amazing things began to happen apparently without the disciples' volition. Each of them began to speak in other tongues, so that when they went outside, every member of the audience could hear what was said in their own language, a sort of massive simultaneous translation without the aid of electronics.
Whether the disciples really spoke in different languages or whether they spoke in the sort of ecstatic language known today as "speaking in tongues" and were instantly interpreted by the audience, isn't clear. But it's possible that the audience too received a kind of overflow of the Holy Spirit to enable them to understand ecstatic words.
Whatever it was, from then on -- at least for a while -- the disciples were filled with amazing supernatural power. There are reports in Acts of healing miracles and even raising the dead, and masses of people converted to the Jesus movement, such was the fervour and excitement. Everyone who believed on the Lord Jesus was baptized and received the Spirit for themselves.
We don't know how long this huge outpouring of the Spirit lasted, but it seems that although the Spirit has continued to be present through the ages working in and through Christians, the immense power witnessed at and just after Pentecost later became more sporadic. By Acts chapter 15, the emphasis gradually begins to change from great sermons preached, miracles witnessed and a rapidly growing church, to become more political. Dissensions and strife gradually creep into the picture and the church sounds much more as we know it today.
Perhaps the subtle difference that creeps in is to do with power. The power of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming and astonishing and it seems, could accomplish anything. But it isn't long before human power raises its head again with the result that people begin to jockey for position and status, with accompanying strife.
And so the church has continued throughout the centuries, with sudden flurries of the Holy Spirit producing new expressions of church, but the human need for power and status soon becoming apparent.
Perhaps this Pentecost, if we want to experience God's Spirit in all its power, we need to set aside all earthly power, all status, all thoughts of influence and success, and concentrate instead on discovering the God within. And then we might find ourselves leaving Deepak Chopra's level two, the level of earthly power and influence and reaching as high as level six, the level of visionary response to God.
Every year in England there are highly publicized cases of parents taking on the local authority because their children have been denied a place at the local school. In some instances parents have actually moved into that area in order to secure their children a place at the school, because that particular school is reckoned to be very good. Naturally parents want the best possible start in life for their children, in order that those children will receive a good education to enable them to compete successfully in the world of work when they grow up. Few would question the desires of those parents or their right to seek the best for their children.
Within our churches there are those who seek to influence and we should thank God for them. Without people who are prepared to exert a certain degree of influence and power, nothing would get done. We need the powerful in all branches of society including the church, and alongside power and influence go success and status.
Perhaps the impression sometimes gained from the gospels is that status and power, influence and success are wrong and somehow shameful. Jesus took his disciples from amongst the powerless in society and frequently clashed with those in positions of power. And when James and John raised the question of status in heaven, Jesus gave them short shrift (Matthew 20:21-23). Yet the gospel story is about power, the power of Jesus Christ.
When people consider Christianity and the Bible, many are only concerned with the question of miracles and whether or not Jesus' miracles really happened. In other words, they are very concerned with the question of power and fascinated by supernatural power. On the day of Pentecost, we see immense supernatural power at work.
Even though they had been with Jesus physically for three years and had then rubbed shoulders for a further six weeks with a live Jesus even though they knew he was dead, the disciples were still a sorry bunch of people. You might suppose that the resurrection would be a stupendous enough miracle to set the whole world on fire, but it didn't seem to do very much for the disciples. On the day of Pentecost they were huddled together in the Upper Room, terrified of the power of the authorities. That power could determine life or death for them and they were very anxious indeed to keep a low profile.
But God had other ideas and God imbued those sad disciples with his own power. The gathered disciples heard the sound of a rushing, mighty wind which filled the house, a clear sign that God's presence was imminent. Back eight centuries earlier, when Elijah had run away from wicked queen Jezebel and was hiding in a cave, God's imminent presence was denoted by a rushing wind, an earthquake and fire, although God himself was actually experienced in the silent whisper which came afterwards (1 Kings 19:11-12).
On this occasion in the upper room, the wind was followed by the appearance of tongues of flame hovering over the head of each disciple. Then came the silence. There was no voice from God, no instructions, but each disciple was filled with God's spirit and amazing things began to happen apparently without the disciples' volition. Each of them began to speak in other tongues, so that when they went outside, every member of the audience could hear what was said in their own language, a sort of massive simultaneous translation without the aid of electronics.
Whether the disciples really spoke in different languages or whether they spoke in the sort of ecstatic language known today as "speaking in tongues" and were instantly interpreted by the audience, isn't clear. But it's possible that the audience too received a kind of overflow of the Holy Spirit to enable them to understand ecstatic words.
Whatever it was, from then on -- at least for a while -- the disciples were filled with amazing supernatural power. There are reports in Acts of healing miracles and even raising the dead, and masses of people converted to the Jesus movement, such was the fervour and excitement. Everyone who believed on the Lord Jesus was baptized and received the Spirit for themselves.
We don't know how long this huge outpouring of the Spirit lasted, but it seems that although the Spirit has continued to be present through the ages working in and through Christians, the immense power witnessed at and just after Pentecost later became more sporadic. By Acts chapter 15, the emphasis gradually begins to change from great sermons preached, miracles witnessed and a rapidly growing church, to become more political. Dissensions and strife gradually creep into the picture and the church sounds much more as we know it today.
Perhaps the subtle difference that creeps in is to do with power. The power of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming and astonishing and it seems, could accomplish anything. But it isn't long before human power raises its head again with the result that people begin to jockey for position and status, with accompanying strife.
And so the church has continued throughout the centuries, with sudden flurries of the Holy Spirit producing new expressions of church, but the human need for power and status soon becoming apparent.
Perhaps this Pentecost, if we want to experience God's Spirit in all its power, we need to set aside all earthly power, all status, all thoughts of influence and success, and concentrate instead on discovering the God within. And then we might find ourselves leaving Deepak Chopra's level two, the level of earthly power and influence and reaching as high as level six, the level of visionary response to God.
