INTRO.- In my former book. Do you like books? Do you read books?
ILL.- TEACHER: Who is your favorite author?
PUPIL: George Washington.
TEACHER: But George Washington never wrote any books.
PUPIL: You got it.
TEACHER: How many books have you read in your lifetime?
PUPIL: I don’t know. I’m not dead yet.
TEACHER: What does your history book tell you about the Civil War? PUPIL: It doesn’t tell me anything. I have to read the dumb thing.
ILL.- It has been said that Harry Truman was one of our most bookish Presidents. Ken McCormick of Doubleday Book Company remembers going up to see him at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel after Truman had left the White House.
He arrived early in the morning and the President wasn’t up yet, but Mrs. Truman said, “Go right into his bedroom—he’d love to see you, Ken.”
So Ken walked in, and there was the President, the former President, sitting in a big chair with two stacks of new books on either side of his chair.
Ken said, “Mr. President, as a publisher, I’m so pleased to see that you’re buying all those books. I suppose you read yourself to sleep at night.” He said, “No, young man, I read myself awake.” That’s what books do for some people. Some put you to sleep and some may wake you; if they’re really good!
ILL.- Asked if he had known Mark Twain, the white-bearded proprietor of a roadside stand in Hannibal, Missouri, where the great humorist had spent his boyhood days, replied promptly and indignantly: “Sure I knew him. And I know just as many stories as he did, too. Only difference is, he wrot’em down.”
We all know plenty of stories. All of us are a veritable gold mine of stories and even wisdom for life but few of us write a book.
You probably never even considered writing a book. It might have been the least desirable thing you would want to do in life, but not for a doctor. A doctor is an educated man. He spends much time in study.
The book of Acts was written by Dr. Luke. It basically contains the history of the early church, the growth of the church, persecution, etc. Luke starts in chapter one with Jesus’ last words and His last sighting on earth before ascending into heaven.
If you were to leave this world very soon what would your last words be? And to whom would you speak them? More than likely if you had the choice you would want to speak to your family members; your mate, your children, and perhaps others.
But what would you say? “I love you!” Yes, of course, but what else? I’ve thought about this a lot and I can only hope that I will have my mind so I will be able to talk to those I love.
What would you say to your loved ones? I think I would say something like: “I love you very much! But Jesus loves you more. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to a far better place. I am going to be with the Lord, with the Father and the Savior. I’ll be just fine. But please seek the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. Love Him, worship Him, live for Him and you will never be sorry. And I will look forward to seeing you again. I love you, my darling and my darlings.”
PROP.- We want to zero in on what Jesus said to His apostles and how it relates to us today. - Wait patiently - Worry not - Witness everywhere - Wonder not.
I. WAIT PATIENTLY
Acts 1:4-5 “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but 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." Wait for the gift.
Waiting is not our best suit or not the thing we do the best. It seems like we Americans are always in a hurry. And we want what we want right now! We’ve got a lot to do and we don’t have time to wait on anybody or anything!
ILL.- Let me give you an example. One day I was driving to Kinko’s on Nettleton. There was a car directly in front of me. Suddenly I noticed a car behind me that seemed to be in a hurry. How much of a hurry? I looked to the left and the lady was driving an SUV and decided to pass my car and the car directly in front of me. And she passed us both while driving in the left hand turning lane (which is not a passing lane) and while talking on a cell phone at the same time. THAT WOMAN WAS IN A HURRY!
We are often impatient with people and with God.
ILL.- It was said that the outstanding characteristics of the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks were poise and calmness. His close friends, however, knew that at times he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion. ‘What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?’ asked the friend. ‘The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!’” That sounds like most people.
Jesus said to His apostles, “Wait for the gift my Father promised…”
If we all knew we were going to get a special gift from someone, especially, our Heavenly Father, we would be anxious to receive it. However, in the case of the apostles they really didn’t understand what that gift was going to be. They only knew that John baptized or immersed people in water and they were going to be immersed with the Holy Spirit.
They might have been thinking, “Wonder what this is going to be like?” Anyway, they should have been somewhat excited like a kid on Christmas morning, impatiently waiting to open his gifts.
I believe that God has many gifts that He wants to give us but we just have to learn to be patient. We might pray, “Lord, when is this trial going to be over? And when is something good going to happen?” We have to learn to trust the Lord and His timing.
Prov. 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Psalm 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
God is saying to us in life: Be patient. Trust me. Keep praying. Keep seeking. And I will lead you and bless you. Wait patiently.
II. WORRY NOT
Acts 1:6-7 “So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”
ILL.- Someone wrote their view on worry.
There are only two things to worry about:
Either you are well, or you are sick.
If you are well, then there’s nothing to worry about;
If you are sick there are two things to worry about:
Either you will get well, or you will die.
If you get well, there is nothing to worry about;
If you die, there are only two things to worry about:
Either you will go to Heaven or Hell.
If you go to Heaven, there is nothing to worry about;
But if you go to Hell, you’ll be too busy shaking hands with friends, you won’t have time to worry.
The disciples quizzed the Lord; “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Many Christians worry or stew over certain things when it comes to the Lord’s kingdom. Like what? When is Jesus coming back? Will He come back silently as in the secret rapture that many people talk about or will He come back visibly and loudly so all can see and hear Him? Will heaven be on earth or somewhere else? Is there a difference between paradise and heaven? Etc., etc. For ages, people have been trying to guess as to when the Lord will come back and what life will be like.
ILL.- I have often said when people ask me questions about the second coming of Christ, “I’m in sales, not management.” Of course, any time someone asks me a biblical question that I’m not sure about I always answer the same way.
Even if I thought I knew the answer, I’m still in sales and not management. It matters not what I think even if I’m correct. The Lord is the manager of the universe and He knows exactly what He is doing and it will be correct!
It matters not what we think, the Lord is in control! He will take care of things. Our job is to walk by faith and put our trust in Him.
ILL.- A French soldier in World War I carried a little receipt for worry: “Of two things, one is certain. Either you are at the front, or you are behind the lines. If you are at the front, of two things one is certain. Either you are exposed to danger, or you are in a safe place. If you are exposed to danger, of two things one is certain. Either you are wounded, or you are not wounded. If you are wounded, of two things one is certain. Either you recover, or you die. If you recover, there is no need to worry. If you die, you can’t worry. SO WHY WORRY?”
There are many things in this life that we fret and stew over and yet there is little we can do about them. The best thing to do is to pray and trust the Lord to take care of these matters.
ILL.- Someone said, “Every evening I turn worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.” Worry not.
III. WITNESS EVERYWHERE
Acts 1:8 “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.”
ILL.- Dr. Howard A. Kelly was in the habit of wearing a button with a question mark on it. He bought them and has given them out by the hundreds. He used it as a springboard to talk about Christ. A stranger would ask, “What does that question mark mean, Dr. Kelly?” He replied, “What is the greatest thing in the world?”
Knowing that they are speaking to a physician, some reply, “Health is the greatest thing.” Others in answer to the inquiry say, “Money.” “No,” Kelly would reply, “the biggest question in the world is: “What do you think of Jesus?” Then he would proceed to speak for Jesus. He was busy caring for his patients in the hospital, but was never too busy to speak a word for Jesus.
Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.”
ILL.- A woman of wealth in Boston was somewhat overwhelmed when a complete stranger approached her on the street and talked to her about Christ and invited her to accept Him as Savior. When she got home she told her husband what happened and he replied, “Well, if I had been there, I would have told him very quickly to go away and be about his business.”
The wife said, “If you had been there and heard him, you would have realized that he was about his business!”
Brothers and sisters, if anything, our business in this world is the witnessing business!
ILL.- Robert Speer said it well, “Any man who has a religion is bound to do one of two things with: change it or spread it. If it isn’t true, he must give it up. If it is true, he must give it away.”
ILL.- It was told that in one of his speeches to the soldiers of the first World War, General John J. Pershing said: “I have known Jesus Christ now for forty-seven years, and I could not face life without Him. It is no small thing to know that all the past is forgiven, that help is available from God every day.” Then continued the general: “I commend such a Savior to you.” What Pershing did is what we must do.
I Pet. 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” WITNESS EVERYWHERE.
IV. WONDER NOT
Acts 1:9-11 “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They 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 into heaven."
The wonder in this verse is that the apostles were standing there in wonder and amazement as Jesus ascended into heaven. And it would be utterly amazing.
ILL.- One night a wife found her husband standing over their infant’s crib. As she watched him looking down at their very first baby, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism. Touched by this unusual display and deep emotions, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband. "A penny for your thoughts," she said.
"It’s amazing!" he replied. "I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50."
What’s that saying? Some people can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes when you concentrate on the details of a problem, you lose sight of the overall picture; in other words you focus on the unimportant, rather than on the important things. You miss the big picture.
There are some amazing things in life and one of them had to be watching Jesus ascend back into heaven. Unimaginable! But here’s the really amazing thing. Jesus had just told his disciples that they would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth, but here they were, standing in amazement, looking up into the sky. And suddenly two men dressed in white whom we assume to be angels, stood beside them and “What are you doing, standing there looking into the sky?”
It’s like God is saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll be back. Get busy. You have work to do. Let’s get on with the program, my program of reaching the lost.”
It seems there are times when we are often gazing around, looking into the heavens, observing the things around us, when we should be serving the Lord! It’s not that we can’t enjoy God’s wonderful creation, etc. but there’s a time to go to work AND NOW IS THAT TIME! And if you think this world is beautiful, just wait till you get to heaven! Don’t stand there in wonder and amazement, go to work! Wonder not.
CONCLUSION---------------------
Last sighting and last words. What will it be for you? What will you say?
Only one life
Twill soon be past
Only what is done for Christ will last.
We will never go wrong when we live for Christ until our dying day and our dying words point people to Jesus!
