Clothed With Power From on High — Les Wheeldon

Thinking of moving to Lanark I decided to put in my visa restrictions. You know I didn't want to give them a visa. But no that's not true. I've got a very. We haven't discussed the transfer fee. Have we?

We haven't discussed the transfer fee. These great footballers have millions of pounds of transfer fees. I think he's worth a few million. But I believe very deeply. And I rejoiced that they were coming to Lanark.

Why were you happy? I was happy because if God is guiding people even out of your midst that is your gain. It must be. It's their gain and it's the gain of the church in Epsom. It must be. If we stay in a place and overstay in a place we're not bringing back.

And I rejoiced in our fellowship. I could say it was a wonderful time we had together. Well I embarrassed John just with this one little story. Well it's not really a story it's a testimony about him.

But John I always thought of as my yes man you know it says that in him the promises of God are all yes and amen. Well John and Martha are yes people. And if I said to John would you go to Heathrow and pick up this purse?

Yes brother. Would you go to the hall early and open it? Yes brother. Could you lead this meeting? Yes brother. Would you preach? Yes brother. Everything I asked him to do John and Martha there was a willingness if I said to him would you do this.

That was wrong? I know what I get. Never! Due to the yes man he's also a very big no man. He would say no. Well that's what I found with John and Martha. I said willingness when I said to the flock in Epsom they were away once and I said to them you know there's such willing hearts you must be careful that you don't impose on them because they will always say yes and that's wonderful.

But it's easily abused of course but they are yes people. We have many such ones in Epsom and I have to be careful to think oh dear I mustn't ask this person to do that. I must think because I know what they'll say and if God can make us such people that is a great great blessing.

It's a great example to us and I believe we should follow it. Well let me turn you then to Luke's gospel and to chapter 24 which is my you know old age I need glasses now I've got these cheap 2 .99 glasses.

I know that I look very nice but I sometimes, I'm not getting very old but I get, you know every one of them get symptoms of getting older and the other day I was in the church wondering for my glasses, somebody said can we sing How Great Thou Art.

And I thought they said 484 or something and I think 484 and they all say no How Great Thou Art. And I've left my xenophrene in Epsom but excuse me having this person on my nose anyway there we go now in Luke's gospel chapter 24 by the way one of the things about elders and I believe that as churches we must be we must live with the ways we've developed and so on and sometimes we don't always understand things.

We get things sometimes a bit right sometimes a little bit wrong or whatever but the important thing is in a church is that we heed the word of God which is a great thing and in the word of God elders are commanded again and again to feed the flock of God, to feed the flock the one great thing we're commanded to do.

Jesus said it three times today to feed the flock of God. He says feed the flock, tend the lands use those phrases and in Peter it says feed the flock of God. Paul says feed the flock of God. And of course the food of the flock is love, they eat love.

They eat the word and I think the word is like a kind of food but it's like you need to. I've never eaten haggis yet. This is an experience I'm waiting for. Well anyway I've got another testimony over here about haggis but you know you eat all kinds of strange things when you travel in foreign countries so I am willing to eat haggis.

But you know that sometimes you eat a food and it's very hard and dry and you need something to wash it down. And sometimes you hear a sermon and you think wow that's really hard and dry. And the food of God the food that he gives us is of course his own son, when we eat the word, the word isn't enough it must be watered by the love of God and the spirit of God.

The food of the flock is love. So Jesus said to Peter when he was talking to him feed the flock of God and he said if you want to feed the flock this is how you do it. He said do you love me. If you love me you'll be able to feed the flock and that's how we go on in ministry.

Jesus’ Promise of Power From on High

But then he came eventually to Luke's gospel chapter 24 and this is something that happened here Jesus risen from the dead and he said this verse 49 behold I send the promise of my father upon you to carry in the city of Jerusalem till you are clothed with power with power from on high.

It's very difficult for us to remember or to understand what it must have been like to be with Jesus in these resurrection days. You know that if I said to you we could have a wonderful vision of an angel.

An angel could stand there, I'm sure it would affect you besides you're an angel. I'd like to see an angel. I don't expect particularly that I will because God hasn't promised me I'll see an angel. But the sense of the supernatural could come through all kinds of things like that.

But when Jesus was with them for these days their sense of the supernatural must have grown to the point where they believed that Jesus could do anything. It must have been such a wonderful confidence in the risen saviour that they believed that having conquered death and he had and he could walk through walls because he just appeared to them from nowhere, they locked the doors and suddenly he was in the midst and all kinds of things were happening and he was teaching them and I think their their joy was growing.

Of course they were still not filled with the Holy Ghost, they still weren't born again of the Spirit of God, they were still struggling to understand and he still said you fools and slow heart to believe all that the prophets have said and as they stood there I think watching him they would have believed that anything was possible, even saying will you restore this time, the kingdom again to Israel.

The Disciples’ Expectation of Israel’s Restoration

You've got to remember that that meant something like will you destroy the superpower of Rome and just give us like a king and all these things. They asked me, they asked me as if it was something easy you know when I visited East Germany back then when it was under communist rule and I went up to a communist guard just to talk to him and it was getting a bit freer in those times, it was the days of Gorbachev and it was getting freer and I realized when I spoke to this guard and he was a Mongol from Eastern Russia, somewhere out there he was so hard, I'd never met a person like him, I thought I'd done the wrong thing.

I thought he could have shot me as easy as saying good morning he was an aggressive, tough hard man. I didn't witness to him couldn't even communicate with him but the thing is this if I stood there and said oh Lord could you cast the Russians out of East Germany this afternoon but that's how they the disciples believed it was possible Jesus could cast the Romans out of Israel who thought he could this sovereignty of Jesus this all power of Jesus the church must get around Jesus to the point where we are aware that we are in the presence of the Lord, we call him Lord and we must obey him that's certainly true, for everything must obey him, you know that no one can ultimately disobey Jesus you do know that Satan must obey him, if I said to you would you please make me a cup of coffee, you would have a choice and if I said to you would you follow Jesus you would have a choice, but I said would you allow Jesus to come into your heart you have a choice, if I said would you give your life, you didn't have a choice but if Jesus Christ stood here this morning and said to you you, vow before me, you will do you will do when he commands there's no choice if he commanded let America collapse you wouldn't understand, it wouldn't be a process of weeks, it would just happen if he said let the monarchy collapse, disappear in a moment he can do it.

There is no institution no power of man, there is no strength of man that can stand against the words of Jesus and he commands everything obeys him, and when he says to Satan, Satan vow before me, the name of Jesus every knee must bow at the name of Jesus every tongue must confess he is Lord, there is no exception neither in heaven or in earth nor in under the earth everything must obey the name of Jesus, and there in lies the faith of the people of God, that we are not praying to someone who has an influence in world affairs, but someone who is guiding world affairs there is no other Lord, there is no other God, now here he is and he's standing before them and he says this, and this is one of the strange things that we always can so easily misunderstand is that the destiny of the nations cannot be changed by politicians.

God gives politicians for a season, we may think how could God give politicians, but even God sets every ruler in their throne from George Bush to Saddam Hussein, they're all there, God has put them and God will remove them, he has a plan, and we pray to the one who can change them, but we sometimes believe, and we believe that politicians can change things, only if we get Christian politicians to rule our countries, we would be so happy and so blessed but I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, if I were elected and I were elected prime minister I would give you money for both of me.

I'll give you my platform I don't think I'll get very far. I'll create my own party we can launch it this morning if you like, the Christian party first thing is to be a member of this party you must be born again.

Second thing is my platform is I'm turning the House of Commons into a ceremony, well I wouldn't get elected would I, what will be the defence of the nation not the nuclear arsenal. It would be trusting God, I wouldn't be elected but can you imagine Jesus ruling from number 10 Downing Street and saying well I'm going to defend the nation by the nuclear arsenal.

Can you imagine saying I'm trusting in the nuclear bombs. Can you imagine him saying well I'm afraid, I'm frightened now Christians and politics must get it clear that we mix come up, I'm not saying that we don't have any voice, we do we said that this morning but we must be careful that we don't become fearful like the nations.

We have a God who is controlling the nations and the Bible says I will not fear though the waves roar and the nations are in turmoil. You can read it in Psalm 40 it's there. I will not fear though the mountains be shaken.

I'm not going to be afraid all right. Well we're going a little bit off course here but I'll try and lead back to this verse 49 I send the promise of my father upon you. He was speaking to a little group of people and you can say well how can Jesus affect the nations by affecting a little bunch of people.

The Church’s Calling in the Midst of the Nations

But I want you to know that this kind of meeting this morning is not irrelevant neither is it unimportant. The meetings of God's people have been in small groups of people around this world meeting in prayer around the word of God.

And if we seek to make ourselves politically important and minimize the importance of the churches we are mad. This is God's will that people meet around his word in prayer. It happens for 2 ,000 years till now it's continuing in populist China.

It's continued when the oppression went on when pastors were in prison for 20 years or more and many of them died there. But the churches multiplied when there was oppression when there was rejection and let not the people of God lose heart.

We are to flourish in this way. Whether we are popular or respected is not a question. We are the people of God. This is God's will. Jesus came to a group a small group of people and gave them promises.

That's God's will. And one of the things I commend to all people in this room young people old people whoever you are. One thing I commend to you is get it clear that Jesus loves the church. He must love the church hates the church.

Of course he hates what Jesus loves the love of the church. The love for the church can be damaged if we cease to love God's people love the way God has ordained us to meet, love these patterns of things that God is doing in the earth.

If we begin to cease to love the things that Jesus loved we will go against him. We'll miss his plan for our lives. He loves the church. And when I listen to anybody, like a missionary addressed or whatever it is I'm always listening how it is that they fit in with the church.

If I hear how people are going on serving the Lord and this or that I'm listening, how does this affect the church. I'm not always listening for it like it's dominating my thoughts but I know that the ministry is always connected with the building up of the church.

That which separates you from the church is not God. And one of the things that horrified me about this modern thing you can hear statistics which frighten you but one of the statistics I heard or we're talking about it on the way here somebody said that the average length of life in a church is about three years or something.

And I was quoting this story I heard in a Christian magazine about Christians who start getting these badges to say which church they've been to, you know like I've been to Yalt and I've been to Poland, I've been to Warthore and I've been there, you've got all these badges on your backpack in California.

I don't know what the percentage is but it's a huge percentage. I think it's a half or a third or what of Christians don't go to church. I don't know what kind of Christians that is, but you can tell I'm talking about Sunday morning now I know in a way I never I don't mind if they go to church, I hardly ever use it.

I don't go to church because I am the church. I'm the church when I'm sitting at home so I don't go to church. I am the church the church comes together. But these are things that are very very important and we can be challenged on all kinds of things but I'll tell you one of the things about our generation and this affects every person when we talk about this generation, I don't think we're talking about you.

We're talking about everybody alive today. I am actually quite modern because I'm here today. Alright and the things I'm saying are quite modern because I'm saying them now. You might say well they've been said for a long time but you understand modernity is you will all be old fashioned in somebody's eyes.

One day I watched somebody at a wedding the other day with a certain kind of hat and I thought you're going to reject you're going to regret wearing that. When you look at the photograph in twenty years time you're going to look at it and go oh did I wear that hat or did I have my hair like that or did I wear that.

I sometimes look at photographs of me with barrel bottoms. You can't imagine that can you. But I was very modern then and I'm very modern now. But anyway well this sorry isn't still you understand I know I'm an old fogey but anyway modern generation and I'm talking about everybody in it selfish generation.

Can I get out of it. That's what weakens the whole concept of the church because it's contrary to the whole basis of the church. The church isn't what can I milk this place. For what do I get out of it is what am I putting into it.

I've preached it before and I'm not going to talk about it in particular this morning. But one of the things I believe is that the church only exists courtesy of people who died for it. The founder, Jesus the apostles, the prophets the endless stream of martyrs they all died for the church for the testimony they gave their lives.

And of course those who didn't die physically they lay down their lives constantly in love and in spiritual sacrifice. I sometimes say to people if you don't particularly care about the church would it bother you if it didn't exist all the church will leave you alone.

I don't think people would realize what deep darkness would fall on a nation without the church. Take away the gospel. Take away the preaching. Remove the bibles. Remove the name of Jesus from this nation.

Go on, remove it, be consistent get rid of it all the deepest darkness. And remember what Isaiah said if they don't speak according to this word it's because there is no light in them. There is no light in this world without this book.

And Jesus calls his church a lamp stand to hold up the light. Remove the lamp stand holding up the light. Well nobody will see, these are very big things and God must refresh them in every person's heart to realize that your commitment to the church is not something that I'm trying to whip up.

It's something that is in the spirit of God the spirit of God, give up. Jesus laid out his life for the church loved it, gave himself for it and so must everybody he's filled with the Holy Spirit. These are big things.

Clothed With Power Through the Holy Spirit

And here Jesus is speaking to this little group of people who are to become a church. They weren't a church, but they were to become a church. And I send the promise of my father upon you wait in the city of Jerusalem till you are clothed with power from on high, what is that power from on high?

Think of power from on high. What do you think of? This is one of the great questions when you talk in any sense about this baptism with the Holy Spirit. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is the most real, wonderful release of a soul to belong to God, to be conformed to the things that are in God to live with the love of God the peace of God the holiness of God, the Holy Spirit comes and transforms our lives in a mighty baptism.

The power from on high is power to have something from that glorious highest place in all the universe God's own throats, to have the power from on high clothing me not outwardly but inwardly. I am inwardly clothed with power from on high.

Every person who is understanding some of these things must be stirred at some point to receive the power from on high. Let me turn you to a chapter in the Old Testament. 2nd Kings chapter. 2nd Kings chapter 2 with Elijah.

Elijah and Elisha: Pursuing a Double Portion

You see when Jesus said you wait until you are clothed with power from on high and Elijah was told well told Elisha he said he said various things when he went up into heaven, Elijah went up into heaven he left his clothing and Elisha was clothed with it.

I am standing here this morning wearing the clothes of Jesus but it is true he has given me his clothing his clothing, his mantle he has put it on me. I am anointed with power from on high. I am inwardly clothed.

I have got a very kind of mind that isn't full of self confidence. I am not a self confident person when I say these things I say them because to say anything else would be a lie. I am not bragging I am not boasting, I have seen that power work to deliver demon possessed people.

I have seen people healed, I am not the greatest minister who has ever lived but I know I am clothed with power from on high but I am not different to any child of God, all God's children are clothed with power from on high, all I have certain gifts.

Maybe that may differ from your gifts but the gifts only differ. They are all from the same spirit the bible says it, they are all the same source. All God's children are clothed with power from on high and you know when Jesus was challenged and he said if I said I was not God's son I would be a lie like unto you he said you must know the truth and you must confess it and you mustn't spend waste God's time by confessing things with your mouth that are contradicting what he says is true, you must make a good confession.

You must, and one of the mouths you must try to give your own if you are full of unbelief and questioning and doubts and fears, silence yourself and say be quiet lesbians, don't talk like that, I am useless.

Well that is not particular news to God but God could use somebody if he just had to use it, and he had taken me up. So you mustn't call yourself useless. You mustn't call yourself, you mustn't contradict God and waste his time.

You must speak the truth in faith. Well we have 20 minutes left to look at this chapter. 2 Kings 2 Kings chapter 2 and Elijah was ascending to heaven and here is the moment when Elijah says something strange to Elijah, he says you stay here please for the Lord has sent me on to Bethlehem, this is verse 2 but Elijah said as the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you, so they went down to Bethlehem.

Strange little exchange wasn't it, he said you just stay here. I am going over there in a little bit and then this great omen from Elijah said no as the Lord lives and as your soul lives. I am never going to leave you.

It happened three times. Three times Elijah said I am going to go down there, three times Elijah said no, no no I am not leaving you, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives I am not leaving you. And then they came to the Jordan River and he said again I am going to the Jordan.

He said stay here. No I am coming with you. The men of the prophet who tells you in this chapter were watching and they told Elijah they said did you know that your the Lord is going to take your head from Elijah away today.

Elijah said this strange thing he said yeah I know he said keep quiet, he said shut up. I don't know if he was polite or I am polite, I have taught my children to say shut up, but keep silent I think can only really mean shut up but he said you be silent be quiet.

You know that when people prophesy to you you have the right to examine what they say before the Lord and to either hold it lest it be the word of the Lord or reject it and say well I don't feel that's the word of the Lord.

And he said to these prophets be silent and you must remember whenever anybody is talking to you in the name of the Lord you must remember a human being is also there trying to influence you. Some people say, I have heard people say one person said the Lord has told me I am going to marry you and you know therefore putting pressure on somebody to accept but that said so are so many people many many times it isn't the Lord.

It's just a very willing heart they want it to happen so badly they are being sincere but it isn't the Lord, it doesn't work out. Speak humbly and if somebody says something well hold it, examine it talk to other elders perhaps and say this is what has been said what do you think of it, they will advise you anyway.

He said you be quiet. He said I am going on. I know all this, you be quiet. They went over to the Jordan River and Elijah took the mantle and he struck the Jordan River. The waters dried up and Elijah and Elisha walked over on dry land.

And then when they got to the other side Elijah said ask what may I do for you. Ask anything you want. You can have it. This isn't very common in the Bible but occasionally God said to somebody you can ask whatever you want.

Jesus said it to his disciples and of course we all take it as a word to us but you have to be careful. You have to realise why he said it to them why they received it in the way they did but the thing is Elijah said ask whatever you want and it will be given you.

And so Elijah didn't hesitate, he said I know what I want. I want twice what you've got double portion of your spirit. Later on you can read that Elijah did sixteen miracles and Elijah did eight. He got a double portion of his spirit but he said I want twice what you've got.

And then Elijah said well you've asked a hard thing. You'll ask something hard. You know that when Solomon was said you can ask whatever you want, he asked a tough thing. He wants to be made very wise now if you think about it that's a very big request, make me wise because you know if you've got no GCSEs or something and you sort of struggle to learn to write and you can just about write your name and you know I know people who are like that.

I know one person who couldn't read and she prayed oh lord give me the ability to read an illiterate person. One night she dreamt she was reading she dreamt she woke up in the morning and I'm talking about a very simple village girl in a village in Africa, she woke up where's the Bible.

Where's the Bible. She took the Bible and she could read. That's tremendous isn't it. If you've got exams next week or something call for the elders and help. Pray. Don't pray for a double portion of my intelligence.

You might still fail anyway. But anyway this is a difficult tough request. Solomon didn't say make me very rich because God would have said well that's easy. Make me wise that I might treat people great people.

Well be a wise ruler. Give me wisdom. Oh that's hard. He didn't say that but it is hard. But because you haven't asked all these other things I'm going to give you wisdom to be wiser than anybody who's ever lived or ever shall live apart from Jesus.

But I'm going to give you all the rest as well. That's what he said to Solomon. And anyway well here we come to it. He said you asked a hard thing. And then it happened. He said well if you see me when I'm taken up you can have it but if not shall not be.

So it happened as they continued on and talked and suddenly the chariot of fire appeared. The horse of the fire set with the two and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elijah saw it and he cried out my father my father the chariot of Israel and the horsemen.

He saw him no more. He took his own clothes. He tore them to sorrow. He picked up the mantle of Elijah. He went back and crossed the Jordan in the same way that he had before. He smoked the Jordan river with the mantle and crossed some dry land.

Overcoming Discouragement by Continuing With God

Let me just pick out a few things to show you here. The first thing is that the strangest is that Elijah tried to discourage Elijah. When I say it that way it's probably a little bit. He didn't say anything to discourage him.

He just tried to find out. Maybe he didn't want to go with him. So he said to him stay where you are now. If I said to you this morning look I'm going to discourage you all from going on the cross. You'd say what.

The ministry of discouragement. Well that's one of the there are different gifts of the flesh as well as gifts of the spirit. The five whole ministries of the flesh and the five whole ministries of the spirit.

One of the ministries of the flesh is discouragement. You can minister discouragement. You can minister the ministry of condemnation. I've got the gift of exaggeration. Let me tell a story all these different things.

But Elijah I'm going to discourage you don't go on with God. Don't go on with God. After all it's quite tough. It's quite bleak out there. When you're praying sometimes late. It's tough when other people don't understand you.

Sometimes you've got to seem strange because you can't go along with the crowd. Don't go on with God. Just settle down go with the crowd. Most people have a good time and they'll be Christians. And they'll be saved anyway.

Well most of them. So don't go on with God. Now you could say well why are you saying that. Because actually that's what you get will get coming to you as a blast from the world from the devil from family, from friends, from Christians.

You know there's a solidarity in sin. If people can get you to sin with them they're happier. They don't like people who stand up Christians don't. I'm not talking about all Christians. I'm talking about some Christian groups.

Don't like people who get super spiritual. They got insults for them. They call them super spiritual, oh don't read your bible so much. There's people they're all relaxed a bit. Come on come to the pub.

Shocking how many people go to the pub and are totally indistinguishable from the world. Don't go on with God. I'll be saved if I don't. Don't go on with God intensely. Oh yeah. Sure. Well it's not absolutely certain.

But you'll be alright. I should guess if that's how you want to live. Of course it's a risk. Isn't it. Who would risk their eternal destiny on the word of a man. Thousands are doing it thousands are playing this lottery.

I might be saved, I might not stay here, just stay where you are. You know God will send you. God will send you discouragement. What? Oh yes. Because if you never met an obstacle you would never grow, you would never go on.

You would wilt and your spiritual life would grow weak and die. It would. If you don't meet obstacles you won't go on at all. So God puts an obstacle in your path and it becomes tough to get up and pray.

It gets tough and you find it hard. And reading the Bible isn't easy. And it's so much easier than just yield and have a holiday for the whole thing for a while. And God is saying now look, now I've got to know what you really want.

Could you give up? I'm not getting through, I'm not. I'm not knowing the presence of the Lord. I'm not, things are changing hard. I'm going through a time of temptation. Lord! And you begin to call on the name of the Lord, then you're beginning to find that the reason you were put through these paces.

God said if you have to be through heaviness for a time in your faith we tested and tried we will come forth as gold and you may receive a crown of life. You have to be in heaviness for a season to get a crown of life.

He says so don't you, that's why the scriptures are written for us, don't be surprised it isn't the fiery trial, what was the fiery trial? Many of them being put into prison. Some of them killed. The groups being brutally disbanded.

They're just as real temptations from the world all kinds of discouragement still upon us and we're in that fiery trial and it's tough, what are we going to do? You see, when we get through to this he got through all the discouragements.

And he came down to verse 9 when they crossed the Jordan River when they got through and they stood on the other side of the Jordan River when they'd gone through, notice that they'd gone through things together.

It's a picture of a soul walking with Jesus go through it with Jesus go through the toughness, go through the loneliness. When they got through it then he said ask and Jesus said to the disciples in the upper room he said, you and they who continue with me through my temptations I appoint unto you a kingdom as my fathers appointed.

He introduced them to me and you shall sit with me on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel, he said this to them and one of the further things he said to them is this ask, remember he said it in the context of you are they who continue with me in my temptations.

Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom. So what we say is we'll ignore that one, we'll listen to the promise itself, ask and it shall be given to you. So he started asking for a season to get the crown of life.

He said so don't you, that's why the scriptures are written for us, don't be surprised he said of the fiery trial, what was the fiery trial. Many of them being sent to prison some of them killed the groups being brutally disbanded.

They're just as real temptations from the world. All kinds of discouragements come upon us and we we're in a fiery trial and it's tough. What are we going to do, you see when we get through to this he got through all the discouragements and he came down to verse nine when they crossed the Jordan River he said when they got through they stood on the other side of the Jordan River.

They'd gone through, notice that they'd gone through things together. It's a picture of a soul walking with Jesus, go through it with Jesus, go through the toughness go through the loneliness. He said ask.

And Jesus said to the disciples in the upper room, he said you are they who continue with me through my temptations. I have pointed to your kingdom as my father has pointed to me and you shall sit with me on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel.

He said this to them and one of the further things he said to them is this ask, he said it in the context of you are they who continue with me in my temptations. Therefore I have pointed to your kingdom.

So what we say is we'll ignore that one, we'll look at the promise itself, ask and it shall be given to you. So we start asking, it doesn't seem to work like that but Jesus gives the promise to ask anything you want to those who continue with you.

Elisha continued stubbornly and persistently to walk with Elijah over all the discouragement of everything that was against him at the end of this process he said to him, now ask we talk so much unbelief we feel miserable, we go depressed we even miss a meeting here, we do this, we go all kinds of slipshod ways in spiritual life and then we say right.