Living In The Now Series

Jesus has given us a task to do, a mission to live by, marching orders to carry out. Listen to what Jesus said, "The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8 NLT).

Listen to what he else he said,

"I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age’" (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT).

Listen to the words of Jesus,

"As the Father has sent me, now I am sending you" (John 20:21).

We summarize this Great Commission in our church’s mission statement:

"God has called us to reach unchurched people from the Inland valley and beyond with Christ’s love and to help them grow into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who wholeheartedly love God and others."

Friends I firmly believe that the second coming of Jesus will not come until that commission is completed by the Church. He didn’t give it to Israel, he didn’t give it to angels, he didn’t give it to our government. Until Christians complete that commission, we’re still planning for the wedding day and the wedding day won’t come.

In fact, God can actually use turmoil and opposition to further that commission. In the book of Acts Jesus told his church to scatter throughout the Roman Empire after his resurrection, but they stayed in Jerusalem instead. So God allowed a persecution to break out in Jerusalem, and that scattered the leaders to other places. God used persecution to prod Christians to fulfill their orders.

During times of turmoil people are more open to the good news of Jesus Christ. As we watch this war broadcast into our homes on CNN and Fox News, many people feel as if the world is spinning out of control. We have a message of home that’s real, a message that’s anchored in God. If there’s any time for us to be bold in sharing that message, it’s now.

It’s so exciting to me that we had two children come to faith in Christ at our puppet show last week. We had two people come to faith in Jesus at our last Meet LBF Seminar. I think we’re getting ready to go into a season of harvest, a time when we see lots of people come to faith in Jesus Christ. With Easter fast approaching, I can’t think of a better time to celebrate this harvest.

Conclusion

Instead of living in the future, God wants us to live our lives in the now. We should look forward to Christ’s second coming, but we can’t live in the future. We need to live in the present in light of the future rather than living in the future. Only then can we live lives of full devotion to Jesus Christ during this time of war and turmoil.