The Promise - Tim Horman
How do you keep going when the work feels impossible? When you're tired, overwhelmed, or just running on empty? When you look at what you're being asked to do—at church, at home, in your relationships—and think, "I can't do this"?
You're right. You can't. And that's exactly the point.
This week, Tim Horman opened our new series in Acts by exploring one of the most important promises Jesus ever made to his followers. In Acts 1:1-22, we find the disciples at a crucial turning point—Jesus has risen from the dead, spent 40 days with them, and is about to ascend to heaven. But before he goes, he makes them a promise: something is coming that will change everything about how they walk with God.
You can watch Tim’s message above or listen to it below.
The Ascension: Jesus Takes His Throne
The first thing Tim reminded us is that the ascension is Jesus' coronation day. Jesus didn't ascend to the throne of Israel or Rome—he ascended to the throne of heaven. Having defeated death and disarmed the evil one through his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus now rules from the right hand of the Father with authority over all creation, every nation, every tribe, every tongue.
"Christ is king. And because Christ is on the throne, we have a kingdom now. We belong to a kingdom that will never end, that will last forever, an inheritance that will never spoil or fade or fail."
This means we live in what Tim described as "the in-between time"—between Jesus' first and second coming, in the "already but not yet" of his kingdom. Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. We know how the story ends. But in the meantime, we're not meant to be idle.
We Have a Job to Do
Jesus has given us a commission: to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. This means continuing the ministry of Jesus—showing the world what he's like, representing our King and his kingdom wherever we are. We are his royal priesthood, his ambassadors, his body in the world.
Tim unpacked what this actually means:
Being a witness isn't complicated—in this time of Jesus' physical absence, we are his presence and are called to continue doing what he did
We do this the same way Jesus did: through service, love, healing, preaching, forgiving sin, showing people their value and worth
We meet people in the dirt of their brokenness—not to condemn them, but to help them see the one who can deliver and give them freedom
"Jesus didn't come into this world to condemn the world, but to save it."
But here's the catch—here's the "one small detail, one tiny little issue," as Tim put it: It is utterly impossible for us to do this work in our own strength.
The Power We Desperately Need
We can't just flick a switch and heal the sick, bind up the broken-hearted, forgive sins, deliver people from demonic power, or preach in a way that brings transformation. We can't make this happen just by being really enthusiastic or developing the right strategies.
Tim was blunt about this: Marketing strategies do not change lives. Lasers and smoke machines in worship do not change lives. Only the power of God can change lives.
This is precisely why Jesus told his disciples to wait. Don't rush out and try to do this on your own, he said. Wait until the Holy Spirit comes, because when he arrives, he will light a fire in you that will be unstoppable.
The word for "power" in Acts 1:8 is the Greek word dynamis—where we get the word "dynamite." This explosive, transforming power is what enabled the early church to spread the gospel like wildfire across the ancient world in just 30 years.
Tim quoted Scott McKnight:
"The prominence of the Spirit in Luke's narrative from Pentecost onwards makes clear beyond doubt that for Luke, the mission of the church could not hope to be effective without this empowering from God, which transcends human ability and transforms human inability."
The Spirit doesn't just give us new abilities—he takes what we have and makes it better, and takes what we don't have and makes it something.
The Spirit Makes Jesus Real to Us
But the Holy Spirit isn't just power to do things for God. Tim emphasised that the main point is that the Holy Spirit wants to make Jesus real to us, alive to us. Through the Spirit, we can interact with Jesus directly—know him, see him, love him.
Jesus told his disciples it was actually better for them that he physically leave, because then the Spirit could come. And here's the stunning reality: through the Spirit, Jesus is more present to us now than he was to the disciples when he walked the earth.
Tim shared a quote from Tim Keller:
"The ascension means Jesus is not less present, but more present than when he walked the earth. In his physical body, he was limited. Jesus could only be in one place at one time. Now through the Spirit, he can be intimately present with every believer simultaneously."
Tim shared a powerful personal story from when he was 17. Growing up in good Bible-teaching churches that didn't emphasise the Holy Spirit much, he always sensed there must be something more than just receiving information and trying his best to live accordingly. When his youth pastor encouraged him to seek more of the Spirit, Tim prayed—and in his bedroom, the Holy Spirit filled him in a way he'd never experienced before.
What stayed with him more than any particular gift or experience was this: suddenly he was in love with Jesus in a way he'd never been before. Suddenly it was real. And from that moment, he knew his whole life would be about serving Jesus for his glory.
"That's what the Spirit wants to give to all of us—an experience of his glory that tells us this is worth it. My life devoted to Christ is worth it because he is glorious, because he is powerful, because he is king, because he is saviour."
A Witness Can Only Tell What They've Experienced
Tim made a crucial point about what it means to be a witness: a witness, by definition, can only tell someone else what they themselves have experienced. You can only be a witness of what you have seen for yourself.
He used the illustration of your favourite meal. You can try to describe how good it is—the flavours, the texture, how it makes you feel. Or you can cook it and let someone taste it for themselves.
"The church without the Holy Spirit is just talking about what we ourselves can't actually help someone else experience. But in the Spirit, all we need to do is say, hey, taste and see. Let me show you. Let me pray for you. You can experience this for yourself."
Tim overheard two high school boys at Eastland—one a Christian, the other aggressively arguing against faith with the usual objections. The Christian kid, looking exasperated, finally said, "Look, I don't know what to tell you, man. You just have to experience it for yourself." Tim wanted to shout, "Yes! That's it!"
You can present information. You can try to convince people. But in the end, they just have to experience the love and grace of Jesus for themselves.
Stop Pouring Water on the Fire
Tim challenged us with a hard truth: too many of us in the church, even after walking with Jesus for years, still treat our faith as theory because we don't have the power of the Holy Spirit—or we've neglected it.
All of us have been filled with the Spirit at conversion (you can't be a Christian without the Spirit). But Jesus makes it clear in Acts 1 that there's something else—an empowering that will propel you forward. And like any relationship, if you neglect your relationship with the Holy Spirit, it will grow cold.
The New Testament calls this "quenching the Spirit"—literally pouring water on the fire. And Tim said directly: the church has been doing this for too long because we're afraid or because we like to feel in control.
"We need to stop pouring water on the fire and start fuelling it with our prayer and with our devotion and with our longing for more of God's presence."
He quoted Dane Ortlund: "The natural inclination of all our Christian living is to proceed out of our own resources, asking God to add his blessing to our efforts. But it's totally backward. When you have a Lamborghini engine under the hood, it makes no sense to try to get your car going like Fred Flintstone, using the power of your own legs."
Those feelings of futility, that sense of impossibility, that resignation that you can never change or contribute anything meaningful to God's work—that's not from heaven, that's from hell. With the Spirit, you aren't alone. You have a companion, a helper living within you, providing everything you need.
One Way to Live It Out This Week
This week, create space to honestly assess your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself: Am I trying to live the Christian life in my own strength? Have I been neglecting the Spirit? Take 10 minutes in prayer and simply say, "Holy Spirit, I'm open to you. Come and fill me again with your power. Teach me how to walk with you." Be specific about an area where you feel powerless or exhausted, and surrender it to the Spirit.
A Short Prayer
Holy Spirit, we confess that too often we've tried to do this on our own. We've relied on our strategies, our efforts, our resources—and we're exhausted. Come and fill us again. Lead us deeper into your presence. Help us experience the reality of Jesus in a way that transforms us from the inside out. We open our hearts, our bodies, our minds to you. We surrender our need for control. Come, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.
Personal Reflection
When have you felt most powerless or inadequate in your Christian life? How might the Holy Spirit's power address that specific area of weakness?
Tim described his experience at 17 when the Holy Spirit made Jesus real to him in a new way. How would you describe your own experience of the Holy Spirit? Is it vibrant and alive, or has it grown cold?
In what ways might you be "quenching the Spirit"—pouring water on the fire—in your own life? What fears or desires for control might be behind that?
Small Group Discussion
Read Acts 1:1-11 together. What stands out to you about Jesus' final instructions to his disciples before he ascends?
Why do you think Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit rather than immediately going out to do ministry?
Tim said that "the ascension is Jesus' coronation day." How does knowing that Christ is king, ruling from the throne of heaven, shape the way we live in "the in-between time"?
What's the difference between being a witness who describes Jesus and being a witness who helps people experience Jesus? Can you share an example from your own life?
Tim quoted Scott McKnight: the Spirit "transcends human ability and transforms human inability." Where in your life do you most need the Spirit to transcend what you can do or transform what you can't do?
Why do you think so many churches (and individual Christians) try to do ministry without actively depending on the Holy Spirit's power? What are we afraid of?
What would it look like practically for you—and for us as a group—to "stop pouring water on the fire" and instead fuel our relationship with the Holy Spirit through prayer, devotion, and longing for more?
How can we pray for one another to be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit this week?