He's Coming Back Series

UPON THIS ROCK

“HE’S COMING BACK!!

Text: Acts 1:10-11

Introduction: An Attitude of Expectancy

Some of the most exciting periods of our lives are the times of anticipation. The times when we can't think of anything but what we are expecting to occur. I can remember many times like these: Counting the days till Christmas; getting driver's license; marriage; etc...When we are living with an attitude of expectancy our steps begin to quicken & our eyes brighten as we reach out to our future dreams. When Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives to His throne in glory, He left His church with an attitude of expectancy.

Here in this last earthly meeting of Jesus & His disciples we find the Lord leaves them with a promise of something great that is going to take place in their lives. They are to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will empower them to be witnesses for Jesus to the world. Jesus left them with an attitude of expectancy. There are times in all of our lives we are faced with circumstances that require either a decision or an action. These are the moments we must seek God for an answer and learn to have an attitude of expectancy.

Transition: 1st we must learn to:

I. WAIT WITH EXPECTANCY v.4 & 7

a. The Concluding Command “…commanded them…”

Earlier Jesus had challenged them with the Great Commission: Mat 28:19 (NIV) "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," And here in the last moments of His earthly ministry to them, He gave them the final command, (v.4) "wait”. Jesus told them to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit to come upon them so that they might receive His power so they might be equipped to witness. We are not waiting for the Holy Spirit to be poured out like they were, that's already happened; but sometimes we need to wait for Him to act in our lives. One of the primary reasons many fail early in life is because they are not properly prepared for what they are about to face in the real world (elab…Prodigal Son). Sometimes Jesus' word to us is "wait". We pray for something we believe is God's will, & His answer sometimes comes back…"wait".

b. The Mysterious Moment v.7 “…to know the times…”

In vs.7 Jesus gives us a principle that we need to understand:

Time is in God's hand. We often fail to understand this truth.

God answers our prayers & works in our lives according to His timing, not ours. Our response to God's word must look unbelievably inconsistent to Him. When He tells us to "Go", we want to plant our feet firmly on the ground & stay. When He tells us to "Wait" we want everything yesterday. The secret to learning how to wait is expectancy…and the secret to expectancy is faith.

II. WATCH WITH EXPECTANCY v.10 & 14

a. A Steadfast Sight “…while they looked stedfastly…”

We should live our lives with one eye on the world and the events that are taking place according to the scriptures, & the other eye focused towards Heaven and the expectation of our Lord returning!!

Mat 24:42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

Mat 25:13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." It is true that we do not know the day nor the hour in which the Lord will return, which is all the more reason to live our lives as if He is coming today. We must watch for Christ's return with expectancy.

b. A Continued Commitment v.14 “These all continued…”

As Children of God, we don’t watch as the world watches (seeing is believing…I can show you better than I can tell you; …Missouri, show me; ect.). Children of the most high God “Walk by faith and not by sight”. In order to watch in the Spirit, we must talk in the Spirit.

Mk.13:32-33 “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed , watch and pray : for ye knownot when the time is . Jesus reminds us that we are to wait & watch because the imminence of His return should stimulate a new realization of the temporal nature of this life. If we are to have an attitude of expectancy we must watch for the coming of Christ & for the Holy Spirit's involvement in our lives.

III. WORK WITH EXPECTANCY v.11

The words of the angels ought to ring continually in our spiritual ears: “…shall so come…” Expecting Christ's return will drive us to do more than wait & watch. Living with an attitude of expectancy will lead us to work for the salvation of our fellowman.