Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day in which the church around the world remembers and retells its beginnings. It was on this day that The Spirit of God was poured out upon all flesh, and as a result of that outpouring, the church began that festival day when 3,000 people were baptized. On this Pentecost Sunday, we transition from our series on prayer in the Gospel of Luke to our series on Mission in the Book of Acts, the continuation of Luke’s gospel. The Book of Acts is the sequel to Luke, and the main character is the Presence of Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Spirit living out His ministry and Presence in the church. For the summer, we will discover what it is like for a church to live and minister in the power and Presence of The Spirit of God. For today, we finish our prayer series by looking at how this great revolution and church expansion began.

Let us read Acts 1:1-14 together.

August 20, 1991. It was a day that will go down in history as a turning point. It was a revolution. The Soviet revolution. We watched in amazement as Boris Yeltsin spoke unflinchingly for the freedoms of his people, standing strong in the middle of a coup that threatened to topple him. We saw soldiers abandon all their loyalties to a system that they no longer believed in. The pictures came back of citizens - hundreds of thousands of them, ­ pouring out into the streets, risking their lives, for the sake of freedom and democracy. Hundreds tirelessly erected barriers, others climbed aboard Soviet tanks, and mayors proclaimed independence. The blood of two citizens smeared on the ground reminded us of the price of freedom.

That was not the first Russian revolution. The first one was in 1917, led by disciples of Lenin. Lenin held to the philosophy of Karl Marx. Another disciple of Karl Marx was Nachaev. He and other followers of Marx plotted to assassinate Czar Alexander II and set up a government based on the Communist Manifesto. They achieved their mission, but Nachaev was sent to prison, and there he died. Prior to his death, he wrote about his beliefs: “The revolutionary man is a consecrated man. He has neither his own interests, concerns, nor feelings, no attachment, nor property, not even a name. All of him is absorbed in the single exclusive interest, in the one thought, in the one passion - Revolution."

Prayer

When I think of how to describe the presence of the church in the world, revolution is not the first word that comes to my mind. I think of words like presence, salt, light, love, or compassion. Revolution seems militaristic, and . . . well, radical. Revolution means that old orders have to be toppled, that the revolutionaries will have to be passionate and resolute, that a new order is preferable to the comfortably of the old one – and that most of all, that if the cause is true, it is worthy of my sacrifice and possibly even my life.

While it may not be the only word, or the most comfortable word, to describe the presence of the church in the world, I am convinced that the church is called to be about revolution: to topple the powers of evil in the world and to declare freedom through The Cross of Jesus Christ. If that is not revolutionary, I am not sure what is.

However, I do not think most of us think of what we’re doing here is revolutionary. It really is just a nice extra in our lives, a luxury we could afford to live without, a mission at our convenience. It is just another step toward our betterment as persons and families; maybe no different than going to the gym, joining a book club, or being at Rotary. Our lives, schedules and passions really have not changed so much. Christ is not the thing – He is just another thing. He gets juggled like the rest of our lives. But, if I read the words of Jesus and the book of Acts correctly, the church is much more serious than this - it is about revolution and the church is called to be revolutionaries in The Kingdom where God reigns.

For the next several weeks, we will study the book of Acts together. Acts is the account of a revolution. When people chose to name the book, they did not name it "Meditations of the Apostles." It is a book about men and women of action, not reaction. One of the major differences that I see between the church then and the church today is that then the world reacted to the church. Today the church reacts to the world. The world was asking, "What are we going to do about the church?" Today the church is asking, "What are we going to do about the world?" The church is about revolution. But to understand a revolution and how it happens, you must first look at the things that precede revolution. I know of no better place to turn than Acts 1 to see the genesis of a revolution.

If anything started from small beginnings, Christianity did (Acts 1:15). One hundred and twenty people had gathered together out of four million people in 1st century Palestine. That group only represented one in 30,000 of the people in Palestine. So Jesus was a success? It's only been 10 days since His ascension, and these are the only ones recorded still remembering Jesus. This was an unlikely group of revolutionaries. There were not many halos, fanciful degrees, or eloquent speakers. These were just common people struggling with what Jesus wanted them to do. What they did was most uncommon. We want to see today the evolution of their revolution so the uncommon can become common again. What are the things that precede the increase of The Gospel?

First, these disciples believed in the risen Christ (Acts 1:1-11). This group of people has an unwavering conviction that Jesus Christ was alive and would continue His work in the world through them. He who was dead also was risen, and that was the most sure thing in all of their lives. I am not so sure it really is true for us. If it were, it would be the most defining truth of our lives. Like those others in the crowd who never made it to the Pentecost room, the revolution has never begun for some of us. We have neutered the gospel so that it is so much like the culture that it is no longer an invitation to a whole new reality. What was a revolution has become a religion. But Jesus did not call us to a religion – or even to Christianity – He called us to Him, and He called us to give Him our whole undivided hearts.

A couple was talking on a date. The guy reached over and put his arm around the girl in the car. He said, "I know I don't have a car like Gerome Green's, nor the money 'like Gerome Green's, or a body like Gerome Green's. But I love you." The girl said, "I love you too but tell me more about this Gerome Green." There are a lot of us confessing to believe and love Jesus, but we are still looking over our shoulder. It is one belief I have, but it is not a belief that rules above our desire for financial security, perfect children and career achievement. We still are looking over our shoulders wandering if something better still awaits us. These early revolutionaries really believed that Jesus Christ was alive, and it changed their lives. It can change yours too.

Another characteristic of this group of revolutionaries was that they believed in the empowering Spirit (v.4-5, 8). These men and women were convinced people - they could have begun a ministry as soon as The Christ entered the heavens. But it would have been a powerless ministry. A lot of action, but no power. But instead, this group waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them for ministry (v.8). Though the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in diverse ways throughout Acts for different purposes, there is one principle that holds true in every case: The Holy Spirit is not a luxury but a necessity for ministry. The Spirit is necessary because it is by The Spirit that Jesus continues to live out His life and continues ministry through the church. Throughout the book of Acts, The Spirit continues to give boldness and direction to the messengers.

In an effort to avoid extremes of others regarding the Holy Spirit, we have handcuffed The Spirit of God in our lives. Too often we have totally ignored the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In an effort to grow our churches, we have turned to guerilla marketing tactics and Drucker’s management theories rather than to the work of the Holy Spirit of God. We have turned to politics and the courts, thinking that the exercise of power and the legislation of policy are the vehicles by which we will bring about the reign of God. We have trusted that money will buy The Kingdom. But God has declared to us that The Kingdom will grow and the church increase not by power, not by might, but “by My Spirit saith The Lord.” We need to repent of our fascination with business manuals, church growth schemes, government policies and powerful militaries and turn again to The One power that can save us and save the world – that is the Holy Spirit of God.

Standing on the brink of revolution, there were some preparations these revolutionaries made. In these verses, I believe we can find two critical steps that we must take if we are to be revolutionaries:

First, these disciples showed a devotion to prayer (vv. 13-14). When this revolution began, there were no guns, no strategy sessions, and no committee meetings. This revolution began with a ten-day prayer meeting. Men and women together joined in prayer as they waited for the promised Spirit to come. Revolution began on their knees, together and corporately pouring out their souls to God. Is this really a way to start up a revolution though? We have no problem intellectually agreeing, but our actions betray us. The church will turn out for almost anything other than prayer. We do not really believe that if we spend more time praying and less time planning that anything will get done. While we over and over again assert our independence before God, these disciples were writing their Declaration of Dependence. Dependence is how the revolution of God begins.

Why do we no longer have prayer meetings? Why do church leaders meet and never pray? Why do we not pray together? We discuss, eat, plan, etc. but never pray! I know of no religious revival in the history of the world that did not begin and was sustained by intense prayer. The church pollster George Barna writes in his book about growing churches, "Prayer was one of the foundation stones of ministry in the successful churches. The call to prayer was the battle cry of the congregation: it rallied the troops. These people understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer in their services, their events, their meetings and their personal ministries." Prayer though is not a strategy for church growth. It is the prerequisite to church growth because it demonstrates the desire and passion of people who have declared their dependence on God. Prayer is critical for the evolution of a revolution.

Second, the disciples showed a desire for unity (v. 14). In verse 14, the brothers of Jesus are a part of the group. In Luke, the brothers of Jesus thought He was out of His mind. They had chided the disciples for following their sick brother. They were not at the cross. Yet, now they are seated in the upper room praying with the disciples. Once they too came to believe, they were accepted by the same disciples they used to chide. There was no probation. They had instant healing with forgiveness. Revolutionaries have to learn who the enemy is, and the enemy is not us!

I believe these disciples knew that if revolution was going to occur, they must be unified in spite of their past or their diversity. They had to realize that the enemy was Satan, and not each other. Someone has written, "To live with the saints above, that will be glory. To dwell with the saints below, well, that's another story." If we are to be revolutionaries for The Kingdom, we must realize that our enemy is not the people in this room. Our foe is not the church or the denomination down the street. Our foe is not those of a different religion. They may have been tricked by our Foe. Our enemy is not even the world. They have been captured by our Foe. We have met the Enemy, and he is not us. If we are going to be part of the revolution of God, then we have to get clear who the enemy is. When we finally get clear about who the enemy is, and quit making everything else and everyone else the enemy, then the church will be ready for revolutionary days. And our reputation might improve too.

When God wants to reach the world, He doesn't use angels, bombs, buildings, or computers. He uses common people with uncommon faith. The problem today is not with the Gospel - it is still powerful! But it is hard to find real revolutionaries. God still wants to fill us and use us. But too often, all He finds is hearts already too full and schedules already too demanding.

I want to be honest with the church this morning. For the last three or so weeks, my heart has been burdened because I sense that we are at a critical juncture in this church’s life. The Greeks spoke of a time of krisis as being the moment when things can really begin to happen for good, or they can take a turn for the worse. I believe we are at such a juncture. Our worship is powerful, our spirit is positive, and our ranks are growing. But we are at a point where we cannot grow any further until every person here begins to give himself or herself over to the reign of God and to The Spirit’s ministry.

First, let me be clear. I am concerned about whether you are given over to The Kingdom, not whether you are given over to one of our prescribed ministries. On the other hand, I sense too many of us really are not given over to The Kingdom – we’re just fulfilling some religious niceties. For the last few weeks, ministry leaders have come to me discouraged because no one will volunteer or commit to ministry. The excuses all sound great – but the excuses mostly have to do with “I, me and mine.”

Those already involved cannot take on another task. If we are going to be a revolutionary church, then it’s going to take all of us stepping out of our places of comfortably where it is easier to be serviced than to serve. It is going to demand that The Kingdom of God, rather than achievement and financial stability, be our passion. It is going to take all of us devoting ourselves to prayer, individually and corporately.

Finally, it is going to require that every believer here devote themselves to the unity of this Body. The only way The Lord's church can be revolutionary is if we learn from the past but then forgive it so that we come together now in this day and age in prayer and mission. If you are sitting here week after week and refusing to give and to be involved in the life of His church because you don’t like how someone did something in the past, or how it is being done now, then it’s time for you to get clear who the Enemy is. The Enemy is not our elders, or a person you disagree with, or any of the people in this room. The Enemy is Satan, and he and his hosts are wreaking havoc on a hurting, poor and lost world while we are attending to your feelings. Revolution cannot happen until the revolutionaries stop shooting at each other and start living in the new reality of forgiveness and community.

I suppose that one of the reasons we often settle for religion instead of revolution is that we really do not believe in the power of our message. Do you really believe The Gospel could be preached to the world again or was that just an idea for that time and age? I find it interesting that our regular attendance on Sunday mornings nearly matches the amount of people in that upper room. Do you believe that a group of 120 could change this community, city, and state? 120 did it then, and I believe 120 can do it still today.

William Booth called Acts "God's Army of Salvation Marching Through the World." In his 80's he became blind. As he lay dying, everyday he asked his family to bring him his Bible. He would feel for the worn pages at Acts, run his fingers over the pages, close it, and pray, "Do it again, Lord. Do it again."

Revolution can happen again - it could begin right here. Let's take 120 of us believing in the risen Christ and relying on the Holy Spirit. Devoted to prayer, and devoted to each other, and it will happen again. Right here, right now. Do you believe it? Holy Spirit, come. Amen.


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