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05.04.08

Ascension Sunday

DYNAMIC LIVING

PSALM 68:1-10, 32-35; ACTS 1:6-14

• Star Gazing
• End Times Predictions
• “When will God’s kingdom come?”
• That’s a question Christians have been fascinated with since the death and resurrection of Jesus
• Throughout the history of the Christian Church, believers have looked forward to the day when Christ will return and the realm of God on earth will be fully established
• At least once in every generation someone steps forward with a prediction that Jesus will return on such and such a date at such and such a time
• Yet, here we are, more than 2,000 years after his life, death and resurrection, and we are still waiting
• Among the very first disciples of Jesus, there was a common belief that Jesus’ absence from among them would be brief
• Based upon Jesus’ own words, these first believers were convinced that Jesus would return during their lifetime
• During his teaching about end times events just prior to his crucifixion, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)
• The Gospel of Mark was written during the time of the Roman emperor Nero when Christians were facing intense persecution
• Mark was the first Gospel to be written, and it was written for those Christians who were being persecuted
• Mark includes none of the early details of Jesus’ life
• Instead, he begins with the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and the first words he records that Jesus speaks is, “The time has come.  The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15)
• Then, he goes on to tell of the persecution and suffering of Jesus to remind the believers that their suffering was not without purpose, and that their time of suffering would be brief because Jesus would soon return
• As that generation passed away and Jesus did not return, succeeding generations have been left to question and to wonder
• Even in our more modern times, the question of when Jesus will return still haunts us
• Every now and then, we still hear predictions from people who proclaim to be reading “the signs of the times” and predict that the world will end on a particular day
• One such event that I remember well occurred in 1988
• The buzz that year was about a little book entitled “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be In 1988”
• This book was written by Edgar C. Wisenant, a retired NASA scientist who claimed to have figured out mathematically based upon information in the book of Daniel that Jesus would return in 1988
• The specific dates he pinpointed were September 11 through 13
• Of course, it didn’t happen, and here we are twenty years later still waiting
• Living Between the Times
• The failure of these predictions points to the truth of the words Jesus spoke to his disciples on the day of his ascension
• Even at this late date in their relationship with him, these disciples still didn’t fully understand his mission
• Even after experiencing his death and the miracle of the resurrection, they were still asking the wrong question
• Even as they gathered on the mountain one last time with Jesus, their thoughts were still on an earthly kingdom
• Luke tells us in these early verses of Acts, “When they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’”
• His response to them still speaks to us as we continue to wonder when the end will come, when God will finally step in and do something to end all of the sickness, suffering, pain, and sin that continues too afflict this world
• In response to their question and ours, Jesus says, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”
• The next words Jesus speaks—the last words he speaks to us before he is taken up into heaven—indicate that the disciples focus was in the wrong direction, and that we continue to focus on the wrong question even today
• The question we ought to be asking isn’t “When will Jesus return and God bring an end to all of this?”
• The question we ought to be asking is “What should we be doing and how should we live our lives until Jesus returns?”
• And Jesus’ next words give us clear direction as we seek to answer that question
• “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.”
• Ushering In the Kingdom of God
• These words are Luke’s version of Jesus’ Great Commission
• Whether we hear them as Matthew records them or as Luke records them here, the purpose of these words is the same
• Jesus entrusts his followers with the responsibility of continuing his mission, which is to bring the realm of God into the world so that the world might be transformed
• And in giving us this commission, Jesus also entrusts us with the power to accomplish such an awesome task
• It’s not our place to be gazing up into the sky looking for signs of when Jesus will return
• It’s our place to be working to build the kingdom of God, to bring the reality of God’s presence and power into the lives of people today
• This is what we pray for when we join together in the prayer Jesus taught us: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
• We aren’t praying for God to intervene and rescues us from the evils of this world
• We’re praying for God’s strength that we might transform the world for God with the power God gives us
• God’s kingdom isn’t something reserved only for the future—it is present here and now
• It began with the life of Jesus and it continues to grow as Jesus’ followers seek to do God’s will in the world
• “The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people,” David declares in Psalm 68 (vs. 35)
• We have been entrusted with the power to change the world
• If the world isn’t changing, we aren’t using God’s power effectively
• Living a Dynamic Life
• Dynamis
• The word “power” Jesus uses here is the Greek work dynamis, the root of the English words “dynamite” and “dynamic”
• This is a robust, earth-shaking force, one that can topple kingdoms and clear the path for God’s kingdom
• This power is to be exercised in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth
• Filled with this Holy Spirit energy, the apostles are to evangelize—take the good news of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world
• Armed with the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, followers of Jesus can live dynamic lives and be a powerful force for change
• The thing is, dynamis can be dangerous
• Like dynamite in the wrong hands, it can be used to destroy
• But God’s intention is that we use God’s power for good instead of evil, that we use it to transform the lives of others in a positive fashion rather than use it selfishly and wreak havoc on the world around us
• So as we seek to live our lives dynamically, we’re going to have to use this power very carefully
• In order to do that, there are a couple of things we must consider
• Characteristics of Dynamic Living
• First, we need to be careful to use this power wisely
• Explosive materials in the wrong hands can cause serious harm
• We’ve seen enough of that in recent years
• And many of us have encountered evangelists who come on too strong, asking questions like, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you’ll be spending eternity?”
• Their motivation is fear, literally trying to “scare the hell” out of us
• That method of evangelism is quite ineffective—it turns people off to religion rather than turning them on to Jesus
• The goal of evangelism isn’t to drive people away from Jesus, it’s to draw people to Jesus
• So the goal of effective evangelism is to sell people on the idea of Jesus and to develop trust
• Both are necessary to be a successful witness for Jesus
• Our life and witness is much more dynamic and effective when we use the power God gives us to build relationships of trust
• Secondly, as we seek to live a dynamic life for Jesus and be effective at transforming the lives of others, we must speak from experience
• Our world is overflowing with secondhand information—he said this, she said that
• Secondhand information keeps the fires of rumor and gossip blazing and erodes trust rather than builds it
• Where the gospel is concerned, we are not called to be reporters; we are called to be witnesses, and a witness is one who has experienced something firsthand
• So when we’re trying to lead someone to Jesus, it’s essential that we speak from experience
• We talk about how Jesus Christ’s teachings have guided and challenged us in our life
• We speak of the times and places we have sensed the presence of the risen Jesus
• We express thanks for Christ’s gift of forgiveness and how it lifted the burden of our guilt and helped us move forward
• We tell of a time we saw the face of Christ in an unlikely person
• The key is to be an eyewitness, right along with the apostles of Jerusalem, and share with others how Jesus has been real to us
• Thirdly, in order to live a dynamic life for Jesus, we need to focus on relationships
• It’s important to note that when the apostles left the mountain following Jesus’ ascension, they gathered together with the women and with Jesus’ family for prayer and worship
• They didn’t try to practice their faith in isolation, but in a network of relationships
• How they lived and acted together was a witness to their devotion to Jesus
• Later on in Acts, Luke tells us that they shared their possessions with one another, they worshipped together in the temple, they gathered together to learn more about Jesus’ teachings, to pray, and to break bread together
• By doing so, they earned the respect and good will of all the people
• As a result of the witness of this community of faith, “day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)
• People are looking for meaningful relationships, so evangelism is all about making connections
• As we focus on building relationships, we will bring others to faith in Jesus Christ
• Transforming Lives
• If people are going to devote themselves to teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer, then we are going to have to show them the way
• If we want people to experience the true life that Jesus gives, we have to show them that this way of life is different
• It’s more than just a life devoted to following a list of do’s and don’ts
• It’s a life that’s exciting and challenging, a life filled with joy and even fun
• The mission of the church is to share the good news that Jesus is alive and well and active in human life
• The power to change the world rests in our hands
• How we live determines how much the world is transformed
• Rather than waiting and hoping for God to act, we have been given the power to act on God’s behalf, but we must use that power carefully and wisely
• Rather than looking for the day when Jesus will return, we must be busy living the life Jesus gives us to live
• As disciples of Jesus we are called to dynamic living
• A life that has the greatest influence for change is one that uses power wisely, speaks from experience, and focuses on relationships
• It’s one that seeks not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify Jesus Christ