Easter Sermon Acts 10:34-43
“The Source of Our Power”
Rev. Cynthia O’Brien
April 8, 2007
We are continuing our theme for 2007: The Year of Discovery. So far this year we have discovered the Bible, discovered our story, discovered our unique gifts, and this month we discover the power to make a difference. Last week we learned about the great sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, when he died on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God. Today and in the following three weeks, we learn how we tap into that power, to make a difference in our world.
Let us pray.
God of power and might, as the Scripture is read and your Word is proclaimed, may your Holy Spirit bring understanding to our minds, and move us to follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We are about to read a summary of a speech Peter gave in Caesarea, in the house of Cornelius. Cornelius was a respected centurion in the Italian Regiment. He was a man who prayed to God and gave to the poor, but he wasn’t Jewish and he didn’t know about Jesus. One day, Cornelius was praying and an angel appeared to him who said, “God has heard your prayers and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to the city of Joppa for Peter.” Meanwhile, God sent a message to Peter also, that this summons was coming and that he should go. Peter went, even though it was against Jewish law for a Jew such as Peter to associate with a non-Jew such as Cornelius. When he arrived, Cornelius said, “We are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."
AC 10:34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
AC 10:39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
What Peter just preached is the essential story of Jesus, who was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went around doing good and healing people, who had power over the devil, because God was with him, who was killed but was raised by God on the third day, who was seen by witnesses, who was not a ghost but flesh and blood who could even eat and drink, who told his witnesses to go out and tell his story to all the world. This is the story of Jesus, not a gentle, weak person, but God in the flesh, who lived the perfect human life and sealed his teaching with miracles. This is Jesus, whom God has made the judge of the living and the dead. This is the one with the power. If you want real power, you have to know Jesus.
The demon possessed man
Some of the best examples of how powerful Jesus was, are in the book of Mark in the Bible. Read the whole book of Mark; it doesn’t take long and it’s packed with action. There’s a great story in Mark about a demon-possessed man who lived in the tombs and would scream and cut himself. When Jesus saw him, Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. He started screaming at Jesus and identified Jesus as “the Son of the Most High God.”
Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
The voice came from the man: "My name is Legion, for we are many." Jesus made them leave the man, and allowed the demons to go into a herd of two thousand pigs. The pigs then rushed into the nearby lake and drowned. People heard about this and rushed out to the lake to see what was going on. When they got there, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and this made everyone afraid. In fact, people were so afraid of Jesus they pleaded with him to leave the area.
As Jesus was getting into a boat, the man who had been demon possessed said “Let me go with you.” Jesus said, "No, go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the city how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Whatever demons are on your back, real or just the trials of your life, Jesus has the power to cast them out. Through Jesus, you can be saved. Is there anyone in this room that can say that Jesus has saved them? Raise your hand if there’s something that was wrong in your life and through Jesus, you were saved.
I know a lot of people who feel like their lives are going OK – up and down, but OK – and yet they feel like they’re just surviving. Feels like you’re working all the time, trying to make a life for your family, trying to overcome challenges of work or money or marriage or kids or all of the above, but you also feel drained.
Then you hear about truly serious needs – Children in Africa whose parents are dying of AIDS. Women and girls who are victims of human trafficking. Veterans unable to get proper medical care. Hurricane victims. Even other local families who don’t have a simple, decent place to live. And you think, I’ve got to do something to help them, too, but shoot, I’m just trying to keep my whole deal together.
John Mayer sings about it on his new album “Continuum.” At 29 years old, he has a song, “Waiting on the World to Change,” which seems to be an explanation for why his generation seems so apathetic:
It’s not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change.
Rather than urging people to change the world, he seems to say, there's nothing we can do. I heard him interviewed on NPR last month. He said, "Look, demanding somebody do anything in this day and age is not going to fly. Kids don't even like being talked to like kids anymore, you know. 'Just give me the option and I'll think about it.'" He says, "All I want a song to do is just to kind of present an idea..."
So there’s an idea to consider. Now, how long do you want to be waiting on the world to change? If you’re ready to be part of the solution, that’s where Jesus comes in again. Because Jesus commanded us to share the love, spread the healing, and he also gave us the power. He said to his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” The power comes from Jesus.
If there’s someone near you who raised their hand earlier, they’d be glad to tell you after church about the power of God in their life. But let me tell you a simple story about someone who got the power to make a difference.
Suzan Robison – the power to become a nurse
When Suzan Robison graduated from high school, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to become a nurse. As she looks back, she remembered that time in her life. She said: “The idea of helping people really appealed to me. On the other hand, studying four hours a day had no appeal.” Her grades showed it. At the age of 19, she failed her first year of nursing school. The next year, she failed again.
A teacher bluntly told her she didn’t have what it took to become a nurse, and that she should drop out. She was humiliated. She moved to another city, away from her family and friends, and took a position as a medical transcriptionist. It went well, but, she said, “I couldn’t get nursing out of my mind. It became clear that I wouldn’t be satisfied doing anything else. But my desire to become a nurse was threatened by an equally compelling fear of failure.”
Every year for 5 years, she planned to go back to school. And every year she was paralyzed by the fear of failing. She found endless excuses for not signing up. The years passed and she was no closer to what she really wanted. Finally, she realized she didn’t have the strength within her to do it alone.
“I asked God for help. I asked Him to grant me the ability to achieve my goal. I started reading the bible, and friends recommended several books. My faith grew, and with it, my courage. Over time, I believed that with God’s help, there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
The next time the nursing program enrollment opened, she applied. She was nervous, but confident God would see her through. Two years later, she graduated with honors in the top 5 percent of her class, and she has been happy being a nurse ever since. “It took me five years to discover my faith, to build my confidence, and to find the courage to try one more time.”
Suzan had a dream for who she wanted to be – a person who made a difference in other people’s lives. With God’s help, she is both personally fulfilled and an asset to her community.
I look around and I’m so pleased to see how so many people give of themselves to help others. This summer, 25 of our church adults and teenagers will be spending 10 days on the coast of Florida doing hurricane cleanup work. You would think that it would be like pulling teeth to get a person to spend his or her hard-earned vacation time doing hard labor, but people who come back from these work trips seem to have received as much as they gave.
New Orleans story
A pastor at the Presbyterian church in Corvallis, Linda Gebetsberger, went to New Orleans with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to help with hurricane relief. She also sent her youth group down there, and this summer she’s going again with a group from around the presbytery. She told me this story.
This time last year, in March of 2006, a work team from PDA, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, had an assignment to clean out a particular home in Louisiana. First thing in the morning, they went to their assigned home. They had a map, but many street signs had been blown down. House numbers were visible, so having finally found the home, the team went to the front door. An elderly man and his wife answered the door.
The team leader explained that they had come to help on behalf of Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance. The elderly man welcomed them in. All day as they worked, he watched them. At the end of the day, the team had accomplished quite a bit.
When they got ready to leave the elderly man again asked them where they were from and who had sent them. The team leader explained that they had been assigned to the home through PDA. The man shook his head and said , "I believe it was God that sent you." The team leader said, "Well, yes...but we were assigned by PDA."
The man shook his head and again said, "I believe that God sent you." He then went on to say that he and his wife had been living in their kitchen since the hurricane hit. No one had come to help them and that morning they had held hands, sat at the table after breakfast and agreed that today they would end their lives. And then ... the doorbell rang.
Each evening back at camp, the teams have a devotional and debriefing time together and share experiences. That night, this team was sharing their incredible experience and telling about the elderly couple, when the village manager got up and left the community tent. He returned shortly with a large binder. He had it opened and his face was an ashen color. Everyone became silent and looked at him. He told the team that they had gone to the wrong house. The homeowner names didn't match up. It was the right house number but the wrong street.
Do you want the power of Jesus to save you, to overcome the demons in your life? Do you want the power to make a difference in this world? It’s yours for the asking.
Let us pray.
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