"Staring Toward Heaven"
Acts 1:1-11
This is quite an amazing passage of Scripture.
We are told that after His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His followers "over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God's kingdom."
He ate with them, and at one of these meals Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait because in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
They talk some more, and then as the apostles were watching, Jesus "was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight."
You'll remember from the Old Testament that God often appeared "in a pillar of cloud."
So Jesus was lifted up by God, into heaven; but He'll be back on the day when heaven and earth are brought together once and for all.
And our hope hangs on that promise.
But in the meantime, there is much for us to do.
We are told that "While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them.
They said, 'Galileans, why are you standing here looking toward heaven?
This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven."
In other words, "Quit gawking; He'll be back!"
Some six hundred years earlier Daniel had had a vision about this--Jesus' Second Coming.
It's recorded in Daniel Chapter 7 beginning at verse 13, "I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven...
...He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
That is an awesome thing to look forward to.
And it appears that Jesus' first followers had kind of gotten ahead of themselves on this, as we often do ourselves.
We can be kind of like kids in a car on a long trip asking over and over
again, "Are we there yet?"
When, in verse 6 of Acts Chapter 1 the apostles ask, "Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?" they appear to have been pretty confused and puzzled.
After-all, nothing that had happened in recent weeks had corresponded with their game plan.
As far as they were concerned, when Jesus called them and then taught them in Galilee during the previous three years or so, they were signing on for some kind of Jewish renewal movement.
They believed that God had appointed Jesus to be the true King of Israel.
They had thought of Jesus as being kind of like King David in the Old Testament, Who for several years was like a "king-in-waiting," standing in the wings with a ragtag group of followers wondering when their turn would come.
Jesus' disciples had thought Jesus was going to be a king in the ordinary sense of the word.
That's why some of them had been asking Him for top jobs in His government.
Israel would be the top nation, ruling over the rest of the world.
That's what they were hoping for, and so their question to Jesus was natural enough: "Are we there yet?"
They hadn't been expecting that Jesus would die a violent death.
His crucifixion had made it look as if they had been wrong--like they'd picked the wrong horse.
And then Jesus had risen from the dead.
What did it mean?
Did it mean that their dreams of 'restoring the kingdom to Israel' were now back on track?
And just as Jesus had told them that they would have to lose their lives in order to save them, so now He explained that they had to lose their dreams of an ordinary earthly-kingdom with governments, politics and all that stuff.
Israel is being restored.
Of course, the new, restored Israel is not a nation based on race, gender or rank.
It is a nation made up of people from "every nation, tribe, language and people."
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be part of it.
And so, in Acts Chapter 1 Jesus answers His followers kind of like the "children in the car scenario," telling them, "It isn't for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority."
"But...
....and this is where we really need to pay attention...
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and the end of the earth."
And why will they receive power?
And what are they going to be witnesses too?
Well, in one sense, Israel has already been restored.
Because in Jesus' death and Resurrection Jesus has already been exalted as King.
And those who are part of His Kingdom will be transformed right here and now through the power of the Holy Spirit.
And the word Jesus uses for "power" here is the word "dynamis;" it's where we get the word "dynamite."
And we need this power if we are going to be able to understand, be changed and be Jesus' witnesses--announcing to the world Jesus is already its rightful King and Lord.
And that power comes surging in--in a few days at Pentecost.
It's what we will be celebrating next Sunday--the birthday of the Church!!!
And that's when things really start to get interesting!!!
That's when the kids in the car stop asking "when are we gonna get there?" simply because the journey itself has become so interesting, and we find out there is so much to see that we don't worry so much about the "when."
One day that kingdom will come, fully and finally.
In the meantime, we have a job to do.
So, in verse 5 of Acts Chapter 1 Jesus says, "John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Jesus is pointing them back to the beginning of His own Kingdom-work--the time when John the Baptist called on Israel to a baptism of repentance and renewal.
"It's gonna be like that," Jesus is basically saying, "only much, much more!!!"
"Instead of being plunged into water, you'll be plunged into the Holy Spirit.
Instead of a renewal for Jews only, you will experience a renewal that will transform you into a new humanity, celebrating the fact that God is King of the Whole world, and you will know this as a reality inside your own selves...
...because I will come and live in you, and you will see things in a different light, you will do things that you never thought you'd do, you will love in ways you never dreamed you would love."
I haven't seen it, but I guess that one of the biggest movies right now is "Iron Man 3."
And, from what I understand, this sequel is an even bigger box office hit than "Iron Man 1," and "2."
The Book of Acts is, indeed, a sequel, as well.
It continues the story about the deeds and teachings of Jesus Christ.
At first sight, this may seem strange, since Jesus Himself only appears in the first 9 verses of this first Chapter.
But Acts is all about what Jesus is continuing to do and to teach.
Jesus is announced as King and Lord as the Living and Powerful Reality Who rules the universe.
Jesus is Someone Who can be known and loved, obeyed and followed.
Jesus is Someone Who continues to act and move in the real world.
And that is what the Book of Acts is all about.
We call it "The Acts of the Apostles," but in truth we ought to really call it "The Acts of Jesus Part 2."
And one of the most incredible things about this Book is that, unlike a movie, we are invited to become major players in what's going on ourselves.
That's the point of the "ending" which really isn't an "ending" at all.
The story continues today, and if we are followers of Jesus, we are part of it!!!
Jesus says, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Notice that Jesus gives the apostles an agenda.
They are to spread the good news right where they are first--right there in Jerusalem...
...just as East Ridge United Methodist Church is called to spread the transforming news about Jesus Christ right here in this section of East Ridge.
Again, again and again we are called to be the light of Christ in this community, and we have made a lot of progress!!!
But there is so much more to do.
As I knock on the doors of the homes surrounding this church building I find that most of the people do not attend a church.
And here we are.
We are the messengers of the Truth!!!
What will we have to say for ourselves when Jesus returns and asks us: "Where are your neighbors? What happened to them? You were supposed to love them as you love yourself."
After Jerusalem, Jesus told the apostles to witness in Judea which would be the surrounding countryside.
My guess is that this is where most of us live--not right next to the church building, but in the surrounding country side.
Are we being witnesses where we live, work and play?
According to a survey that came out a few years ago, 82% of un-churched Americans are receptive to attending church if they are invited and escorted (that means picked up and driven) by a friend.
That same survey reports that the number of church-going Christians who invited and escorted friends to church the previous year was 21 percent.
Are we taking Jesus' Words seriously?
Are we taking our faith seriously?
Do we care enough?
Jesus then instructs the Apostles to witness to the Samaritans--those hated semi-foreigners in the next town over.
And He goes on "to the end of the earth."
In parable after parable in the Gospels Jesus tells a story about how people behave when their "Master" is out of town...
...How well they take care of the work entrusted to them, the gifts, the time, the talents.
Then He says, "The master...will come on a day when [the servant] does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware."
What will you be doing, what will I be doing when Jesus Who was "taken up...into heaven" returns "in the same way" He went "into heaven"?
