Ascendent Power

The human race gets one war quieted down and another breaks out somewhere. We feed the hungry in Rwanda and Ethiopians begin to starve. Last Good Friday the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland agreed to get along, and this spring they are still wrangling over how to do that. Violence in the streets is no longer just a big city problem. There was a shoot-out in a nice, upscale suburban housing development near where we live recently. On top of all that, we continue to develop amazing new technologies that mystify most of us. Our time-saving devices seem to demand more and more time of us.

The world is so big…. Things move so fast…. Even little, local events are beyond our control. Our children are hard to manage. Our senior citizens need constant care. Our politicians talk about stuff that interests only a few of us. How do we manage? We can hardly manage ourselves, let alone our circumstances. All of us at one time or another—and probably more often than we like to admit—want to shut down and put a sign up that reads, “Due to circumstances beyond my control, the rest of today is cancelled.”

Then we go to church and a preacher reminds us of the great things the early church accomplished. They defied all odds and conquered their society. And there we are again, feeling bad because we seem to be getting nowhere. Well this preacher today wants to talk not about what we don’t get done, but about the divine power that early church had to get it done; and my contention is that the same power is available to us, here and now.

If we could only tap the power of God…. I’m here to tell you that the divine power has already descended. It arrived in a stable in a far-off corner of the world. Its arrival was heralded by angels and greeted by common shepherds. It was quiet for a while, hidden in a carpenter’s shop in Nazareth. Then it burst on the scene in the form of powerful teaching, powerful healing, powerful reconciling, powerful relationship-building, and all of that in the powerful person of Jesus, who said, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” (Luke 11:20) Kingdoms come with power, and the Kingdom of God is no exception. This kingdom has power over demons; it can surely give wonderful power to its citizens. The divine power has descended.

That divine power even condescended. What caught the Jews of Jesus’ day by surprise, and what continues to confuse people today, is that this divine power didn’t act as we expect power to act. Do you ever play, “If I were God”? Isn’t it strange that our imaginations can’t help wielding power in overpowering ways? Jesus underplayed his divine power. Its coming in a simple person was odd enough, but to see that person with the power to heal with a word, stooping to wash the feet of his friends—that’s really strange. A few years later the Apostle Paul received a revelation he put into these words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Such condescending power is seen most clearly in the scene where the one who, as the song puts it, “could have called ten thousand angels,” was nailed to a cross and displayed as a common criminal. The cross of Jesus is the divine power condescended.

And then, as our texts tell us, that divine power ascended. The witness of our Christian scriptures and of the confessions of the church down through the ages is that Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We would call the right hand “the power seat.” Christ now has the divine power free of all human and physical limitations. The divine power is now ascendent. But what good does that do us?

The divine power descended again. Here is the crux of our texts from Acts and Ephesians. Christ promised his disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The promise of power accompanied the commission, and a few days later the reception of that power initiated the mission. The disciples put themselves in a position to receive the descended power—the position of prayer and willingness to serve. And the divine power came, and not just in tongues-speaking, but more importantly in their unhindered testimony to Jesus Christ. Jesus had told them that they would accomplish even greater things than he had, and it happened as the divine power was multiplied by the lives of many witnesses. The divine, ascendant power is again descended.

That divine power works in the testimony of plain, ordinary folks like us. It is not bound by geography. People all over the world have the power. I have seen it at work in North America, Europe and Asia, and I have read about its effects in Africa, Australia, South America, and the islands of the seas. The power transcends geography. It is not limited by race or nationality. I have seen people of all complexions who live in the power. “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.” The power transcends race and nationality. It is not hindered by language. The scriptures are available in over 2000 languages and dialects, and the gospel is being preached in some languages that are not even written down yet. The power transcends language. It is not weakened by social or economic status. Christ’s witness need not be highly educated, well dressed, or a member of a powerful family. Divine power is available to all. The power transcends social and economic status.

In short, God’s power—the same power displayed in the works and resurrection of Jesus—is available to every disciple of Jesus on the face of the earth. It is available even to you, even to me. Paul tells us that it comes right along with hope and salvation. What a concept! Let that sink in a bit. The power that raised Lazarus from the grave is at your disposal because Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and gives his people power.

As long as we are in this life, the ascendant power of the ascended Lord is available to us who descend to serve and condescend to sacrifice.

Let me tell you about Jacob. Jacob was reared in upper Midwestern United States in a well educated, middle class, white, Christian family. He graduated from a Christian college last spring with a degree in pre-med., planning to go on to medical school. His Christian faith led him to commit one year of his life to some sort of mission work, and he settled on the Mission Year program developed by Tony Campolo in inner-city Chicago. Let me read you some excerpts from one of his newsletters.

“As soon as I walked in the door, something caught my eye. To my right was a hospital bed with a short, dark body lying in it. The elderly woman introduced herself as Clara and then introduced us to her son, Tyree. Tyree is a 29 year-old, with severe Down’s Syndrome, who has been bedridden for two months. After Clara introduced us to Tyree, I went over to talk to him. His face lit up as a huge smile stretched across his face. He then reached his hand out for my hand, so I reached back. He held my hand for a moment and then let go. He laughed with a huge smile. Again he reached out for my hand and I gave it to him. This time he held my hand a little bit longer. He let go and smiled again. At this moment, I knew God had sent me to this house for a reason. God brought me to this place in order that I may share my life with Tyree and Clara.”

The next time Jacob tried to visit Clara and Tyree Clara refused to let him come in. This confused him, so he stayed away for several weeks. Then he tried again. He writes:

“Clara…invited me in. I instantly noticed something was different—all the tension… was gone. The atmosphere was light and conversation was easy. The Holy Spirit was at work. Again, Tyree was glad to see me. I went over to him and saw the big, beautiful smile I had so missed. I even conversed with Tyree a little bit. …. Again, Tyree reached out for my hand. I reached for his and we held hands for a long time. I have come to cherish those moments. The gentleness that radiates between our hands calms me and sends a peace through my entire body. … I feel Jesus in those brief moments.”

Jacob is determined to help Tyree walk again. Please pray for him in this ministry. And please don’t miss the lesson—the power of God is available to all of us, and it comes in surprising packages and astounding situations. But be careful. It just might turn your world upside down. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses“ at home, around the bend, ”and to the ends of the earth.” Amen.

Prof. Bruce E. Shields
Emmanuel School of Religion
Johnson City, Tennessee, USA
E-Mail: ShieldsB@esr.edu