Are You Stargazing
Are You Stargazing?
January 4, 2009
Acts 1:6-8
Introduction
We come now to that time of year where our hearts and minds naturally do two things: First – we replay what has happened to us over the past 12 months and Second – we begin to seriously think about / / / / to plan for the next 12 months. As I played these two things over in my mind, I realized the great challenges we faced over the past year (individually and collectively…..personally as a family….and collectively as a church and, on a much broader scale, as a nation). But thinking of the past should lead us to plan for the future….and so before we jump back into our 1 Corinthians study….I thought we might want to address some of the pressing issues facing all of us today! Here are just 3:
1. Our Nation – Our country is facing challenges never faced in my lifetime…..and I think not faced in any of our lifetimes. We are fighting a war on two fronts - Iraq and Afghanistan – and most of us have friends or family members serving, many “in harm’s way.” Economically, we are in a severe recession unlike any since the Great Depression. In just a few weeks this fall, over $7 trillion of wealth disappeared from our economy….and the recession is not just American, but is global in scope and affect. Home values continue to fall producing more and more families losing their homes to foreclosure. Layoffs, bankruptcies, and increasing unemployment figures seem to be the headlines of the newspaper every day. Increasing financial pressure is being experienced by almost every family in America because of our economy. From layoffs and foreclosure to the evaporation of wealth in retirement plans…..the pain of the recession is very real and it affects us all.
2. Culturally – Our country seems to have turned the corner in secularization. A nation founded “under God” ///// A nation which has a foundation built upon Biblical principles and freedom to worship…. is moving away from recognition that a God….any God really exists. This shift includes the postmodern belief system that denies any such thing as absolute truth and embraces a system that enthrones relativism – “If it’s good for you, then do it!”
The family is being redefined within our culture to include same- sex “couples”. It is becoming “hate speech” to condemn a lifestyle that is declared wrong in Scripture (thus, by God)…..and we show intolerance toward the rights of others if we speak the truth in love. But where does the “tolerance” end? The same reasoning being used to argue tolerance within the homosexual agenda can be applied in a multitude of situations. Looking down THAT road brings chilling scenarios – Polygamy, bestiality, the abuse of children! But homosexuality is not the only attack on the family. Divorce – Even within the church, there is confusion over the biblical roles of men and women in marriage……and, according to some studies, evangelical Christians have a higher divorce rate than those who claim no relationship with Christ!
Abortion - Even with a war raging on two fronts, the womb continues to be the place of greatest violence in our land, with over 1.2 million unborn babies murdered[1] each year. The progression of the false belief that we, the created, have a right to ownership of life – continued in Nov. when Washington State voters approved euthanasia by physician-assisted suicide in their state. The cheapening of life through abortion and euthanasia….the degrading of women and the addictive pollution in the hearts of men wrought by the proliferation of pornography continues to flourish in our culture. As our culture runs further from God and His moral standards, we watch as our families and children bear the brunt of the consequences.
3. Finally, we must consider the state of the church in America almost 1 decade into the 21st Century. As the problems mount within our culture and we watch as families fall apart….where is the church? Well, sadly much of the evangelical church in America is on decline. In the earnest attempt to reach out to their communities, many local churches have secularized themselves….moving away from worship and gathering for the sake of exalting Christ and moving towards a well produced, multi-media event meant to entertain and hold people’s attention long enough to promise a cure for whatever is ailing in your life. In Dec., the Vice President of the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) had to resign his position after declaring in a Public Radio broadcast that he was now in favor of same-sex unions and was re-thinking his position on same-sex marriage. The NAE is the association of Conservative churches and denominations nationally!
For decades, pastors and church leaders have “dumbed-down” the gospel and the teachings of Scripture. Faith and trust in the sovereign grace and goodness of God in Christ has been mostly forsaken and the emphasis has shifted to the temporal. What theologian Dallas Willard calls “band-aid” Christianity – that teaches us to manage the sin in our life rather than to seek the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that produces transformation of the whole person – it affects all of our life and personality and relationships!
As the church continues to blur the lines between itself and the world, the world is less and less attracted to the church! We aren’t really battling the same “Separation of Church and State” any longer…..we (the Believing Church) are fighting to even have a voice that is heard outside our own walls.
Transition – It really seems that the setting, the culture, the challenges facing Christians today are…..well they’re difficult to say the least! So, how do we deal with all of this? Is the return of our King imminent? How are we to live within this culture? How can the church affect the culture? Turn with me to Acts 1 and I want us to consider the command Christ gave to His Disciples as He prepared to ascend again to the right hand of the Father in heaven. We see, within this passage:The Proposition; The Promise(s); and The Purpose. Read Text Acts 1:6-8
Scene: If we look above our passage at v.3, we see that Jesus has been with the 11 Disciples for 40 days…..appearing to them…..and speaking about the kingdom of God. It is during this time that Jesus commands them to stay in Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit – after His departure. And as the 11 waited…..we can just imagine the confusion and perhaps even fear over what would happen next. They realize that Jesus will leave again…..and they know….they’ve been raised to understand the Covenant of David…that the Messiah would come and establish His rule over all the earth – and He will do it from Jerusalem!
The Proposition: We see all this in their question in v.6:
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
So, what’s wrong with this question?
After all, it’s about the Kingdom of God, isn’t it? Jesus spoke and taught much about the Kingdom: the expression “Kingdom of God” is common in the synoptic gospels - appears 4x in Matt. and the similar “kingdom of heaven 39x; 14x in Mark and 32x in Luke. Let’s look at how Jesus responds to their question.
(v. 7) “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
A. Why are you looking for the time? The Disciples are looking for the kingdom now! A look at part of Jesus’ teaching on His return in Matt. 24-25 will show us that the over-riding message of His teaching is not to somehow try and gauge the time of His coming – but to be READY. We this summed up well in Matt. 24:44-46
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
We see this in Matt. 24:36,42,44; 25:13. The emphasis is not on
“knowing” but on being ready.
B. Our Father holds the times and seasons! Only the sovereign God of the universe has the authority to put a stop to human history. We cannot know the time of the King’s Return….but we can be ready…and we do KNOW that our Heavenly Father is not undecided or reacting to events on earth….but He has “fixed (time and seasons) by his own authority.” We can take comfort that whatever is going on around us…..globalization, cultural attacks on the family structure, even the secularization of the church – none of this is a surprise to God. Our Father has already accounted for these when He set the appointed time! Warning – We are to trust in His sovereignty…..but that does NOT mean we accept the circumstances and do nothing! We are to be ready…..we are not to be caught-up with time, but with God’s purposes…His Mission!
The Promise: This leads us to the promise Jesus brings to us. Look at v. 8a “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, …” What a wonderful, compassionate and comforting promise!! Knowing there must be some fear of the future (without him physically present)…..knowing the persecution to come….the promise of the Holy Spirit is sweet indeed. Jesus has already prepared them for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. John records in his gospel – in chapters 14 & 16 – that the Holy Spirit will lead them in truth….bring Jesus’ teachings to mind and convict the world of sin. He is called the Helper, Advocate…..but here – our Power….the power of God in us! Jesus is promising that God will indwell His people…..Ezek. 36.27 – “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules…….v.28 …..and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” [c.f. Jerem. 31:31-34] The grace of our Father in giving us the Holy Spirit! We can never….we must never attempt ministry outside of His power…..it is God in us and through us that accomplishes His purposes! The kingdom of God is here now…for the Lord reigns over our lives and through us! The indwelling Holy Spirit has made God’s redeemed His Temple….His dwelling place!
The Purpose - But we must see the last part of v.8 to find God’s purpose…..His mission for the church….for each of us!
“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This is God’s heart for the nations….this is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham….that “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22.18). It’s true; we cannot be witnesses like the Apostles who visibly witnessed the resurrected Christ. But the testimony of witnesses for Christ in Acts continued beyond the Apostles (Acts 8:1,4). The same Spirit that fell upon them at Pentecost indwells us today. And the same mission Jesus commanded of them…..He commands of us….To go and tell – our family, our neighbors (Jerusalem), others who are culturally different living around us (Samaria) and to the ends of the earth! (un-reached People Groups).
Our purpose is to live the Gospel! God’s Spirit in us is Transforming us and refining us to reflect the image of Christ! And as we live out the gospel, the culture around us is transformed. The church is never called to be like the culture in which it’s planted, but to be on mission with God and watch as He transforms that culture through the gospel!
Conclusion – Do you long for Christ’s return? Do you see the problems and challenges around you and your family and long for Jesus to come back and set it all right? Then you must be ready! It is not in the timing, but in the purpose!
Read 1:9-11
The 11 Disciples stood and watched as Jesus Christ ascended into heaven….back to His Father. And as they stood gazing up ….God dispatched two angels who said…. “Why do you stand looking up?” Listen, discipleship and living the gospel is not about looking up and waiting, but it’s about going and witnessing!
John Stott writes: ‘There was something fundamentally anomalous (irregular/ wrong) about their gazing up into the sky when they had been commissioned to go to the ends of the earth … Their calling was to be witnesses not stargazers’ (The Message of Acts [IVP, 1990], p. 51).[2]
If you long for the return of Christ….the consummation of the kingdom of God….the healing of the sickness and mortal wounding of sin in this world…..then God’s answer for all Believers is to expand the kingdom! We must be a missional church! Let us be witnesses…Not stargazers!
Pray
Communion
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[1] www.nrlc.com/abortion/facts 2006-07 data is latest available.
[2]Carson, D. A.: New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA : Inter-Varsity Press, 1994, S. Ac 1:6