Acts 1:4-11
Marching Orders
Three days ago marked “Ascension Day” on the church calendar. This is the day we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Today’s scripture records the story. And as Jesus interacts with his disciples, we see him shift their focus from temporal to eternal; he broadens their perspective from national to international; he changes their view from pride to service. So, let’s look at the story and see if Jesus wants to change us as well. The first thing I learn is to ...
1. Leave God’s work to God. Jesus talks about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in power. The disciples no doubt remember prophets like Joel who linked the Holy Spirit’s outpouring with the revival of Israel. So, one of them asks, “Is this the time, Lord, that you will overthrow Rome and take charge?” And perhaps there’s a little pride in there as well, such as, “Is this our time to lead with you?”
Jesus doesn’t reprimand. He simply redirects. At first, he gently replies, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” In other words, “It’s none of your business. This is God’s work, not yours.” A previous time he told them, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). If Jesus doesn’t know when he will return, why would they know?
Folks, if you ever hear that a person or group has predicted when Jesus will return and when God will restore Israel to its full glory, you can know for sure they are wrong. Why? Because this is God’s work, not our work. It is not for us to know.
Sometimes we get to meddling in God’s work. In fact, whenever we worry, we are meddling. Those things beyond our control are God’s work. We need to turn our worry into prayer and leave it with God. “Let go and let God,” as the saying goes. Life becomes so much easier if we learn to do that. Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the Serenity Prayer that says it well: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
But there’s more. Have you heard the rest of his prayer? Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
We can leave God’s work with God. We don’t need to worry about when Jesus will return. And we don’t need to worry about other things. We don’t need to worry about changing people. We are only responsible for ourselves before God. We don’t need to worry about our family members or friends. We don’t need to worry about the portions of our health beyond our control. We don’t need to worry about our finances. We can pray for those things and entrust them to God.
I woke up one day and discovered that I was not the God of the universe. How about you? It’s a healthy discovery. As we leave God’s work to God, it gives us more time to do the second thing I noticed in today’s scripture, which is to ...
2. Do our work with God’s power. Jesus doesn’t scold the disciples for their misdirected question. He simply redirects them to a broader scope. He says, “You’re missing something bigger than just Israel here. Your mission needs to go larger. We’re talking the whole world here!” And he gives them their marching orders, which are our marching orders as well. He says in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Notice God’s mission begins with God’s power. We don’t do anything to earn it; we just receive it. The disciples will discover this ten days later, as the Holy Spirit comes upon them. (We’ll look at that story next week.) We discover it the moment we entrust our life to Christ. When we first ask God to forgive our sins, to come in and take charge of our lives, right then God puts his Holy Spirit within us.
And the Holy Spirit gives us power. The Greek word for power here is “dunamis,” from which we get our English word “dynamite” or “dynamic.” God’s power is explosive power!
As we receive this power, Jesus says we become his “witnesses.” You’ll find this word some 39 times in the book of Acts, so it’s an important job. I remember a Peanuts strip when Lucy decides to be a witness. She says to Charlie Brown, “I would have made a great evangelist.” Charlie Brown answers, “Is that so?” Lucy says, “Yes, I convinced that boy in front of me in school, that my religion is better than his religion.” Charlie Brown asks, “Well, how did you do that?” Lucy answers, “I hit him over the head with my lunch box.”
No, Lucy is a little off there with her witness. In a courtroom, a witness only attests to what he or she has seen; just the facts. That’s all we have to do as well. We don’t have to be great theologians that unpack the hidden meanings of Revelation. We just need to be able to say, “This is what God does in my life. This is how my life is different because of Jesus.” No one can argue with your personal witness, because it is your individual experience. It’s your story. And if you don’t share it, it’s not going to be shared.
It’s interesting that the Greek word for witness is the word “martyr.” In Bible times, to give your witness often meant becoming a martyr, literally giving your life, which still happens in some parts of the world today. Sharing our witness can carry consequences, but God will take care of us.
Note where Jesus sends his followers: “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Our Jerusalem is right where we live. That’s where the disciples lived at the moment. Judea is the larger area encompassing Jerusalem. For us, that would be like Texas. Samaria is the territory north of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ time, the Samaritans were half-Jews, despised by full-blooded Jews. So this category includes anyone you despise or tend to look down on. We all have prejudices. Think about yours. You are to witness to “those people” as well, because God loves them as much as he loves you! And then, if that were not enough, Jesus says our mission includes “the ends of the earth.” This is everybody else. This is why our church at year-end sent missions money locally to the Fisher Houses, nationally to the USO, and across the world to ___ , _____'s missionary daughter. ____ is working in a Muslim area that does not allow Christian missionaries, so she is serving as an English teacher while witnessing among the Muslim women of her village. Since we cannot physically go there, we help another who is there. There are some 1,200 areas of the world where there is not a single church of believers.
When it comes to where we witness, Jesus says basically, “Wherever you are.” The “go and make disciples” command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 is most accurately translated “As you are going, make disciples.” In other words, wherever you go, you are on mission for Jesus. You do Jesus’ mission at HEB, on a sightseeing trip, at lunch today, whenever you give your offering, with your next-door neighbor, on the phone with your relative. Wherever you go, the Holy Spirit shows you what to say and do and when to say and do it, if you watch for the opportunity. And then our last lesson from the story is to ...
3. Be ready for Jesus’ return. Jesus’ disciples watched the Lord enter into the clouds. Those clouds are symbolic of God’s shekinah glory of the Old Testament, on Mount Sanai with Moses and in the Tabernacle. The cloud always signified God’s presence, as it did when it enveloped Jesus at the Transfiguration. Here he simply disappears into the clouds, back with his Heavenly Father.
Then two angels show up and say to the disciples, “You’ve looked long enough. Now it’s time to get to work.” Sometimes we enjoy the warm glow of God’s presence but we’re slow to follow God’s direction. Here the angels reassure the disciples that Jesus will return just like he left, from the clouds.
Jesus is coming again! He is the original Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I’ll be back!” He is the original General Douglas MacArthur: “I shall return!” Scripture records for us that Jesus will return and take those of us who belong to him to live with him forever and ever in heaven.
Our job is to be ready. How are we to be ready? By serving him day in and day out, knowing that any day could be our last. So, let’s make it a great day. Let’s watch for ways the Holy Spirit wants to use us with dynamite power. Let’s watch for God’s purposes to unfold around us, and to join God in his work. Let’s love God and love people. Let’s trust God to take care of the things beyond our control. Then we are ready, whenever it’s time. We are ready. Let’s pray.
Thank you, God, that you honor us with being a part of your holy work on earth. Help us to trust you that you will give us the words to share, the actions to take, to allow the good news of Jesus’ love and forgiveness to spread to others. Help us to be on mission with you wherever we go, by the power of your Holy Spirit at work in us, amen.
