Power to be witnesses in Jerusalem …

Life Group Notes 20th May 2007

Helen Smith

Today is Ascension Sunday! The account in Acts, of Jesus ascending to Heaven, is found in Acts 1 v1-12

v 8: “ … 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.”

Four elements:

1. Ends of the earth - exciting adventure to e.g. Australia (Rebecca Smith heads off there tomorrow)
2. Samaria - also venturing into the unknown and challenging, outside familiar territory, e.g. Europe
3. Judea - a bit closer to home, attainable, not too challenging, but a nice trip out, e.g. Castle Douglas, for a day trip, or over the border to Carlisle! Relatively familiar territory, but fun.
4. Jerusalem - Home turf, containing all the mundane problems of life - not exciting.

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To listen, turn up your PC speakers, and choose your preferred option below - listen straight away to streamed audio, or download to listen later on your PC, iPod, or CD player.How did Jesus view his Jerusalem?

• He ached for it - weeping at times
• Described it as a tough, ‘desolate house’
• It was where His authority was challenged
• Where He challenged dead religious strongholds
• Where He shook society, through healings, statements and actions
• Where He enjoyed close fellowship with people, especially His disciples
• Where He was betrayed
• Where He was denied by one of His closest friends; Peter
• It was a place of disappointment
• Place of trial before Pilate, and a time of inner trial for His disciples

In fact, it was very like Dumfries, for us!

We’ve had deep times with God here, but we still face trials, depression, oppression, betrayal, etc.

but …

Jesus’ Jerusalem was a place of resurrection and revelation - where He appeared to people.

Jerusalem - our Jerusalem (Dumfries) can be our place of encounter with God

Dumfries is a place of promise, with many scores of promises from God:

• Light on a Hill, Strong City, River of Life. Promises of revival and visitation from God, etc.
• We need to wait from the promise of the Father

Acts 2

- the promise began to be fulfilled

The disciples had to conquer giants in the realm of familiar things. Away is exciting, but home is boring! Mountains of the ordinary can be the most difficult ones to defeat. E.g. Criffel is on our doorstep, but who has got round to climbing it?!

In our lives, these mountains can be personal bad habits, the way we deal with certain people, work pressures, etc.

Genesis 13 v 3 - 18

3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring [a] forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Abram returned to the place he’d been earlier and made an altar, together with Lot. v8 - time to split, Lot took what looked the best, on the plain, Abram was happy to trust God, for the desert and the ‘barren’ land (v14). The difference was that God made a promise over the not-so-good place. We may have chosen the less exciting, apparently less fruitful place, but God has given us the promise! That means we’ll have the best in the end.

Notice v 14; God said to Abram, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look…” And then in v 17; “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

What to do …

1. Face your Jerusalem - aim to get over the pain of the past - let Jesus set you free!

2. Run with the vision of the Church. Don’t worry if you don’t have your own vision - go with the corporate one

3. Look beyond your present circumstances

4. Stop limiting Jesus - walk the walk of faith.

• Like Peter, walk away from your mistakes and denial.
• Climb your mountains in the promise of His power
• Know you can do it - through His ability, not yours

Finally

Recognise that sometimes the mountains we face are beyond us and we need help. That’s where our leaders and mature Christian friends come in. Ask for help in dealing with issues and facing things which intimidate and we find daunting. We are here to help each other. Life Groups are here to enable us to ‘Do Life’ together. It’s easier to climb Criffel as part of a group, that to go it alone … and it’s more fun too! Ask at the Church office for information on our Life Groups which meet weekly in homes at various times.

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