Don't Stand Around Waiting for Heaven to
Happen
-- Jesus Left Us Here for a Purpose
-- Jesus Left Us Here for a Purpose
On the day of his
ascension, Jesus was on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, and “he was
taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight”
(Acts 1:9). His disciples “were looking
intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in
white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do
you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from
you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go’”
(Acts 1:10-11).
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I wonder:
Like Jesus’ first group of disciples who stood staring into the sky
after Jesus had ascended from their view, do we spend much of our time as Christians
simply standing and staring up at heaven?
We have a tendency to see Christianity as a waiting process … waiting
for the end of time, waiting for Jesus to return, waiting for heaven to become
our home. That is the end goal of our faith,
but let’s not overlook what comes before that.
If Jesus had nothing else in his plans for us except heaven in the end,
he could take us to heaven right now. He
could have taken his original disciples along with him up to heaven on the very
day he ascended above the Mount of Olives.
But our Lord had something else in mind for them, and for us. He wants us to be his witnesses in this
world. While we wait for the future
glory of being with our Lord there, above, we have something important to do here,
below. We have a mission to our
neighbor. We have a mission to the
world.
Let’s look at what was said and seen when
Jesus ascended back to heaven and learn some lessons about our lives in the
here and now. First, Jesus said to his
disciples, “Wait for the gift my
Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John
baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit” (Acts
1:4-5). Now, of course, the disciples
already had the Holy Spirit – and indeed the Holy Spirit was very much involved
in the baptizing that John the Baptist had done at the River Jordan. But to these men, his apostles, Jesus had
promised an additional, special outpouring of the Holy Spirit – giving them
supernatural abilities. They would speak
in foreign languages (without needing language training) and would even perform
miracles. God’s purpose was to
accentuate and punctuate the message they were speaking in his name, to call
attention to their message with special demonstrations of his out-of-this-world
power. But the main aim of the Spirit
was always in the message itself (not merely in the miracles). Still today and every day we have the main
power of the Holy Spirit with us – the power to change hearts when we share the
word of Jesus. When we go out in our day
to day lives as witnesses for Jesus, we do so with confidence knowing we’re not
on our own. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of
the age” (Matthew 28:20), and also that “all
Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16 CEV) – given to us by the
Holy Spirit. As we live our lives and
speak about Jesus, we have the power of the Holy Spirit empowering us. We can be bold and outgoing. We need not be shy or afraid.
But even as Jesus was speaking to his
disciples about the power they would have from the Holy Spirit to go out into
the community, out into the world, they were thinking of something else. They asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to
Israel?” (Acts 1:6) The disciples of
Jesus were still somewhat stuck in a view that was common to their culture. They thought that the Messiah would establish
Israel as his nation on earth and the people of God would live in peace and
power there in Israel, separate from the other nations of the world. We can be like that too. We like to cloister ourselves in our small
circles with one another as a Christian citadel, somewhere where we can feel
safe. But is that what Jesus has in mind
for us as his disciples? No. We
will find safety in his eternal kingdom at the end of time, but in the meantime
Jesus wants us living our lives in the
world, acting as influences on our neighbors in the world, reaching out and
speaking out in his name.
Jesus said to his disciples, “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” (Acts 1:8). Notice the pattern which Jesus
established. First they would be his
witnesses in Jerusalem – right where they were at that time. Then their efforts would spread throughout
their region – Judea. Then to the next
regional area – Samaria. And eventually
their message would be spread – not just by them but by word of mouth from
person to person after starting with them – all the way to the ends of the
earth.
So it is with us today too. Jesus
would say to us, “You will be my witnesses in your town or city, and in your
state or region, and in the neighboring region, and to the ends of the
earth.” That doesn’t mean God expects
each individual to become a world missionary and go to every place on the
globe. But he is commissioning each of
us to be a witness to tell about Jesus’ love and forgiveness wherever we are
living, all through our lives. And
through us one person after another will be influenced. So every single Christian is a witness for
Jesus in a constant, ongoing pattern of witness.
What will our lives look like if we are
witnesses for Jesus? I think sometimes we
think about that in too complicated a way, as if you have to have a whole bunch
of training or an official position as a pastor or teacher. Certainly pastors and teachers do much
outreach in the name of Jesus. But when
Jesus speaks of “witnesses” he means anyone who has seen, heard, experienced
what the message of Jesus means and relates that meaning to someone else. A good example would be a man whom Jesus had
rescued from a plague of many demons. He
didn’t know much more about Jesus than that – that Jesus was the one who had
saved his life. Jesus told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how
much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19
CEV).
Being a witness for Jesus doesn’t have to be complicated. You need not be an expert on every biblical
doctrine. You need not be a champion at Bible Trivia or know all the who’s who
and what’s what of Bible history.
Certainly it’s good for you to read your Bible and become more familiar
with the people and events detailed in the Bible. But as a witness for Jesus the main thing is
simply that you know Jesus himself. You
know that you are a sinner who so very much needed Jesus and needs Jesus, and
that Jesus is so very much the Savior who has done for you everything you
need. And you simply live your life in
acknowledgement of him, in confession of him.
On another occasion, Jesus said to his
disciples, “All people will know that you
are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35). A
compelling way we can give a witness to others about the kindness and love of
Jesus is to be kind and loving toward the people around us. People
won’t want to know about our doctrine if it seems we care about doctrine more
than we care about them. People won’t
inquire about our faith and religion if we don’t seem inquiring or interested
in them as people. But when faith in
Jesus makes our lives come alive, when the hope of Jesus is evident in our
lives, when the love of Jesus is overflowing from our hearts, we open paths to connect
with others with the message of faith and hope and love.
Jesus’ apostle
Peter urged us, “Always be prepared to
give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). If our lives express hope, others will have a
reason to ask us why we are so hopeful, and we will have opportunity to speak
about Jesus. If our lives display peace
and contentment, someone may ask us, “How do you stay so calm and positive?”
and we will have opportunity to speak about Jesus. If our lives show love—unfailing love,
unflinching love, love that keeps loving even when people are unlovable—people will
wonder, “Why?” And we will credit Jesus,
for only he can fill us with such love.
My friends, disciples of Jesus, you are
witnesses of the life and love and power of Jesus. His life is what gives your life
meaning. His love is what moves your
heart to love. And his mission – to bring people to know
about love and forgiveness in his name – is your mission. So as his disciples, let’s not just stand around
waiting for heaven to happen. Don’t
think of your faith life as something that happens just in church when you’re
saying prayers and singing hymns. You
are a witness for Jesus wherever you are, whomever you’re with. Live your life as someone knows and trusts
Jesus. Simply let others see “how much the Lord has done for you and how
he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
And your Lord Jesus—who is in heaven but holds all power on earth and in
heaven in his hands—will be with you always, in all you say and do.
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