March 28: Promises
♫ Music:
Monday, March 28
Scripture: Acts 1:3 & John 14:12-14
“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
PROMISES
Today is the day after Easter. As believers, we just celebrated Christ’s resurrection. What about today, and the 49 remaining days before Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit?
This joyous season of Eastertide is very important in shaping our kingdom perspective. What happens in the gap, the in-between phase between the end of Christ’s earthly sojourn and His return to heaven? Jesus shows us what to expect and receive in this interim period. Throughout His ministry, Christ emphasized the Kingdom of God. From the very beginning (Mark 1:14) and after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), Christ’s life is bookended and propelled by kingdom vision.
In this passage, Christ assures us that we will do “greater works than these” and “if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” This is mind-blowing and can be hard to believe. How could we possibly do anything greater than God? Yet He promises this. When Jesus was walking the earth as a human being, His presence and power were constrained by place and time. But because of the Holy Spirit’s coming and indwelling, we can do greater things. Not necessarily greater in terms of breathtaking miracles, but greater in global impact as the body of Christ. We are His hands and feet; active carriers of His Spirit to the ends of the earth. We can be bold in our prayers, asking Him “to do more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20) for His glory.
Christ’s Last Sermon by James Tissot is not a sad farewell, but a joyful beginning of union with Christ through the Holy Spirit. Just as we see in Peter Preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs, a new era is being ushered in, an era where we are co-participants in proclaiming the gospel through word and deed.
But we cannot do this alone. When we think of “kingdom,” a collective element comes to mind. We are a group of people united under a common vision; to help in the establishment of that “city on a hill.” Just as we are called to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5), Jesus is our High Priest. He stands in the gap and advocates for us. If we ask for anything in His name, He will give us the wisdom and resources needed to carry out His work.
Let us not forget what Christ has done for us, in His death, resurrection and the sending of His Holy Spirit. And may we celebrate Easter all year long!
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your beautiful gift on the cross. May we remember and honor you continually in our lives. We can easily lose sight of you in our mundane and frenzied moments. Help us to approach your throne with confidence, knowing we are your treasured possessions and that there is great power in your name to do all the things you have called us to accomplish for your kingdom.
Amen.
Grace Lee, Alumna, Institute for Spiritual Formation
Artwork #1
Christ’s Last Sermon
James Tissot
Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum of Fine Art, Brooklyn, New York
About the Artist and Art #1
James Tissot (1836-1902) was a French Impressionist painter and illustrator who was friends with fellow artists Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, and American painter James McNeill Whistler. Known for his bourgeois lifestyle, in 1888 he underwent a religious conversion when he entered a church to “catch the atmosphere for a picture,” and thereafter devoted himself to religious subjects. He visited the Holy Land in 1886-87 and again in 1889. His many Biblical works were enormously popular, both in book form and when the original drawings and paintings were exhibited. Christ’s Last Sermon is part of Tissot's series The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ).
Artwork #2
St. Peter Preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs
Jan Styka
Watercolor on paper
About the Artist and Art #2
Jan Styka (1858-1925) was one of Poland’s most illustrious citizens and a world famous painter. After being awarded the “Prix de Rome,” he moved to Italy where he studied the works of the Italian Masters and painted a variety of pictures. His outstanding masterpieces were four panoramas, including The Crucifixion which can be viewed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The Crucifixion, also known as Golgotha, is reputed to be the world’s largest and most dramatic painting on canvas. In 1959 Jan Styka’s remains were brought from Italy to be buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.
About the Music
“Know the Kingdom”
Lyrics
When men are in bondage,
When they are sick and afflicted,
When you speak My deliverance
To those oppressed by a demon,
When you go as My sheep among the wolves
To speak a word of peace, releasing in My might
The prisoners of the lie.
Know the Kingdom
Has come among you.
Know the Kingdom
Has come among you
In power.
To those poor who are mourning,
Speak words of comfort,
Adorning them with beauty for ashes.
Ask in My name, I will grant it.
When you go as My healing to the world,
To speak a word of peace, releasing in My might
The prisoners of the lie.
Know the Kingdom
Has come among you
In power.
Go in My name
to the ends of the earth.
Yes we will go
to the ends of the earth.
Whatever you ask
in My name, I will do.
Whatever we ask
in Your name, You will do.
If I find two
in agreement, I’ll do
My work through you.
When men are in bondage,
When they are sick and afflicted,
When you speak My deliverance
To those oppressed by a demon,
When you go as My sheep among the wolves
To speak a word of peace, releasing in My might
The prisoners of the lie.
Know the Kingdom
Has come among you.
Know the Kingdom
Has come among you
In power.
About the Musician
Steve Fry serves as senior pastor of the Gate Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. An acclaimed worship leader, singer, composer, teacher and minister, Fry has toured the globe with his impactful musicals We Are Called, Thy Kingdom Come, and Storyteller--all spirit-filled pleas for revival. “Know the Kingdom” is taken from Thy Kingdom Come, one of the “top 5 recordings ever released by Sparrow Records,” according to Sparrow President, Billy Ray Hearn.
stevenfry.org