This morning, as we continue our sermon series on identity, we are looking at finding our story inside of God’s story. The Bible is the story about God and God’s love for humanity and for our world. In the Bible, we learn about God and we come to understand God’s purpose for the world and God’s gifts to us. During this series, we have been referring to one passage in the first chapters of Genesis and other passages in the New Testament. We’ll do that again today. Last week, Pastor Harrison spent a lot of time reminding us that we were made to live in God’s presence. Prayer is the way that Christians walk and talk with God. Adam and Eve physically walked and talked with God in the garden. And we were made to do this! Christians celebrate that God has given us his Holy Spirit to walk with us; and as a guarantee that God will return, in Christ, to physically walk and talk and live with us always. Today, I want to consider how connection with God connects us to God’s power and glory; and what that means for us today. [READ Genesis 2:8-17] 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin j and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 1. A Temple with God’s Image In It God put mankind or humanity in the garden to enjoy it. Genesis 2 goes into some detail to explain what this garden was like. First, it was in the east. The east is where the sun rises, but also where new light and life comes from each day. And it was a very high—the headwaters of the four great rivers of the near East were there. From this place, rivers flowed to water the whole known world! It was a place of riches and goodness. And what’s more, this place that was geographically very high and full of life—this pointed to ancient people that it was a divine temple—a place where heaven and earth were connected! This is not just about the place, however. Every temple has an image of the god at its centre. And at the center of this temple was humanity—made in God’s image and made to enjoy life and enjoy God in God’s holy presence. Like the gold and resin, like the waters that spilled out from the garden to water the world, God’s presence also radiated from this place. 2. God’s Image Removed from God’s Presence and Power We modern readers might miss that in Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve reject God, they are not firstly “kicked out” of a beautiful place. They are, first and foremost, removed from God’s presence. Removal from the garden was not removal from a paradise of place. The garden was a place of paradise because of God’s presence. Genesis gives a picture that life in God’s presence is full of goodness and riches of all kinds; God’s presence means life and growth. God’s presence is what humanity was designed for, because we are God’s images. And outside of God’s presence we find death; we find suffering; we find sickness and old age; we find sorrow. Since the fall, most of humanity has been living outside of God’s presence. 3. God’s Image In God’s Presence Filled with God’s Power And so it is, in Jesus, that Christians see once again an image of God that lives inside of God’s presence. Colossians says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (1:15). In Jesus, Christians see the life that we were made for, but the life that we have been missing out on ever since Adam. The Book of Acts begins with Jesus’ disciples watching him go into heaven and being tasked with being his witnesses—“in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Acts chapters 1-12 are about Jerusalem and Judea; Acts 13 through 28 record the disciples witnessing to Jesus to the ends of the earth! 4. Witnessing to God’s Presence and Power in Heaven and on Earth What are the disciples witnessing to? What are they talking about? They are showing and telling people how earth and heaven are connected; how humanity was made to live in God’s presence, and how there is one human person already there—in his body! Jesus. Jesus is king, from heaven, he is reigning over all the earth! And they are exploring and working out exactly what it means that Jesus is king over all the earth now! Even though Jesus reigns in heaven, he has promised to return to fully reconnect earth and heaven—to do what the prophet Isaiah promised: “fill the earth with the glory of God!” This is happening through the Holy Spirit already with the disciples’ preaching and ministry work. If this is what they are doing, it should not surprise us then, that many of the conflicts that the followers of Jesus face in Acts happen in and around temples. First, the temple in Jerusalem, then synagogues throughout the world where Jewish communities were. Then also pagan temples and public places where other gods were worshiped, and other powers were depended on. Temples are places of spiritual power. Watch what happens in Acts when Paul, one of Jesus’ followers, goes to these places to show and tell the presence and power of God! [READ Acts 19:1-20] 19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues j and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way [of Jesus]. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. 5.1 Mistake #1: Resisting the Kingdom of God because we like our human traditions Paul went to Ephesus and brought the good news about the kingdom of God: Jesus reigning from heaven and bringing God’s power and authority to earth! But the leaders there did not want God’s power! They like their own traditions, which left them in power. They became obstinate—stubborn, refusing to move—and publicly criticized and mocked followers of the Way. The Way of Jesus is foolishness to human wisdom and human strength. The way of human tradition and human religion is always the same—build power and influence for ourselves. Use our power to force or change others. But the way of Jesus is self-giving love. It should be no surprise that a person emptying herself in love looks utterly foolish to someone building up power and strength for himself. But brothers and sisters; which are you? 5.2 Mistake #2: Fighting evil in our own strength We see in this passage that people are no match for the powers of evil in our world—whether these powers are demons or evil spirits, whether these powers and human oppression or man-made religion. Do you know this, brothers and sisters? I want to warn you because if you see evil in the world and you try to face it in your own strength, with your own wisdom, in your own power and with your own resources—you are going to be overpowered and discouraged and defeated. This is not God’s will for you! 6.1 God’s Presence and Power Changes our Lives in Unexpected Ways Our text shows us an unexpected response from unexpected people. In response to Paul’s “extraordinary miracle” and in response to the evil spirits power over the sons of Sceva, a number of people not only responded in fear—which is to say, they recognized the power of evil spirits—but they held the name of Jesus in high regard! They saw just how much more powerful God’s kingdom and God’s power and God’s glory was than anyone or anything else. This was so clear to them, that some of them who practiced sorcery brought together their spell books and destroyed them with fire. These people were living in a world that was a scary and dangerous place. They had turned to sorcery because these spells promised some power and control to people over their difficult situations. But when they saw the power of God, they realized that, whatever their spell books offered, it was nothing compared to the power of God. So they destroyed their books and they turned to God. Much later in his life, Paul writes this to the Christians in another Roman city, Philippi: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) No one would choose suffering or difficulty or pain. More clearly, no one would choose suffering for its own sake. But Paul has been so captivated by the power of God and the power of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, that he will happily go through anything to pursue it. Christian, have you been so captivated by God? Do you want the power of God in your life? Then set aside every other desire that you have—and focus on that one. Focus on him. The people in Ephesus in the first century saw in real time the effect of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 6:19-20): 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. People saw miraculous signs and wonders, people saw evil spirits cast out, because God was living within Paul and the other disciples. This is what we testify to, when we profess our faith, as Saelin did this morning: we say that Jesus is our Lord, that we do not belong to ourselves, but that Christ lives in us—we are temples of the living God. This brings us great comfort, as the Heidelberg Catechism teaches. But it also means that not only is the presence of God within his temple—within us—but also that the power of God is within us. 6.2 God’s Presence and Power Change Us from the Inside If you are facing difficulty or pain or sadness, our temptation is to try quickly to get out of that situation. But if you are able to remain present, to pause, and to reflect, consider: 1. Am I in this painful situation because I am resisting the kingdom of God? Am I in this painful situation because I am holding onto some human tradition or plan instead of holding onto Christ? 2. Am I in this painful position because I am trying to fight evil or injustice in my own strength? 3. Or, finally, am I in this painful position because the power of Christ in me is coming against the powers of sin and darkness and evil in this world? These questions require serious discernment, along with the help of others. If you are in the first two situations, God calls you to turn to him—put your trust in him and turn away from your trust in some other plan, some other tradition, or even your own strength! But if you are in a painful position because the power of Christ within you is coming against the power of sin and darkness in the world, then the solution is no different. Lean into Christ. Talk to God in prayer. Discern with others. Ask God to provide the next step for you. 6.3 God’s Presence and Power Fill Us to Change the World Brothers and sisters, here is the mystery: God’s presence and power always change us within our situation before they change our situation itself. Christians who ask God to change our situation without submitting to God to change ourselves will always be disappointed. God loves his world a great deal. God shares his power and his glory with our world in many ways. But God loves you so much that he is not willing to allow other things to change while leaving you and your inner life unaffected! God’s presence and God’s power always change us within because we are his temple. We are where he has made his Spirit, his love, and his life to dwell. God wants to make you a place where heaven and earth are connected. He wants to bless and build and strengthen and beautify the world through you! He loves you so much that he will not do your part without you! Do you see how God’s plan from Genesis has not changed? He is still using his temples, putting his image within them, and using them to bless the world. But we do not need to find Eden. God wants to connect earth and heaven within you! When we read stories like this one in Acts on a Sunday morning; we only read one small part of the larger story. We might be tempted to think, “oh, just trust in God, lean on his power, and you will go from victory to victory!” We might be tempted to expect or even demand that we see the same kind of miraculous results here that Paul did, that we will never struggle again. But whenever the kingdom of God is expanding in power, evil powers always strike back. Paul’s experience in Ephesus continues, and becomes one of the darkest parts of his life. But that is for another day. Today, we are focused just on this one part: Whether you are on the highest hill or in the lowest valley, you will never have enough experience or power or wisdom to walk in your own strength. But if we are depending on God, we can walk in confidence because Christ goes before us. God almost certainly will do something we do not expect; maybe even something we do not want; but when we depend on him, we can trust that he will provide himself to us, and give us his presence and his power for each decision and each day. Let us turn again to him in prayer.