More Last Words

"He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will recieve 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." After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." Acts 1:7

Pretty safe to say that His last words on earth were these as the Ascension happens right after He says them. I have always taught and still believe that His last words were the Great Commission. Though we know these words best from Matthew 28, another derivation of them is shared here in Acts. Jesus instructs His disciples that they will be (sounds like a directive to me) His witnesses everywhere. (to the ends of the earth implies that).

These words are clear and have always been our marching orders for the Kingdom work of reaching the world for Christ. It means we reach out with the good news of Christ at home, down the street, across town and in all the regions of where we live, and then all the way to the farthest reaches of the world. This has been widely taught and is understood. But what about the words preceding this Great Commission. Aren't these part of His last words to us?]

Jesus says it is 'not for us to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.' Instead of concerning ourselves with the exact details of when He will return or when the Holy Spirit would come. (Not only the dates, but the times when those events would and will happen.) We should be concerning ourselves with being empowered so that we can share the good news of Christ. Everybody wants to have a big 4th of July picnic or a huge Christmas Eve event, but it is not as easy to have somebody make reservations or send invitations or do the shopping or planning, or the setting up and cleaning up or the decorating or the followup or to come up with the wonderful ideas and implement them to make it happen.

We are way more interested in being part of the audience and not necessarily part of the team on the field. Everybody wants to watch the game, but far fewer want to play in the game. Jesus is telling us that we are now the Committee to finish the work He began here on earth. The Good News is that He gave us the Holy Spirit to energize and motivate us to do what we need to do. So how do we organize and mobilize such an awesome responsibility?

Well, it takes a lot of prayer and mutuality and humility and risk and cooperation and training and sharing on and on. These are the things that we are not as good at. But, again, the Holy Spirit will coordinate us. We just all have to surrender completely to His leading and direction. The reason the Great Commission is incomplete is because we have human beings on the team. God has done His part, Jesus has certainly done His part, The Holy Spirit is trying to do His part. What part to you play? Are you a team member or stuck in the stands watching. Sometimes as Pastor I feel like I spend a lot of my time trying to be a referee in a game where everybody is playing by their own rules. That is why we have the Word of God, so we can know the rules. The Holy Spirit will show us what to do if we will follow His lead by His rules. The game is on, may be the 4th quarter and it is time to get in the game. Let's all work together and do our part.

In His Service,
Pastor Fred

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