Years ago, a famous Supreme Court Justice named Oliver Wendall Holmes said: “Some people are so heavenly minded, that they are no earthly good.” Now, I’m not exactly sure why he said that, but it has been true in the past.
ILLUS: In 1823, there was a Baptist minister by the name of William Miller. He began to teach that Jesus was going to return to earth VERY soon. His teachings seemed so well researched that at one point he had nearly 100,000 followers (called Millerites). Then he put a date to the return of Christ – somewhere between March 21st of 1843 and March 21st in 1844. But Jesus… didn’t come. Still, Miller was so sure of his conclusions that he assumed he was off by just a month or so… and he set a new date of April 18, 1844. But again, Jesus didn’t return.
Finally, there was a follower of Miller – a man named Samuel Snow – who had closely studied Miller’s research and concluded that Christ was absolutely returning on October 22, 1844. There was so question about it. He was very firm on this. Snow’s prediction became so popular that when the big day came, 000s of the Millerites sold all their possessions and refrained from planting crops… and gathered in homes and churches, on mountains and meadows and looked anxiously to the sky looking for Jesus’ return. They were convinced THIS WAS THE DAY! And they all watched and waited – for hours - for Jesus to return. But he didn’t come on October 22nd, and they all went home.(https://www.cracked.com/article_34313_in-1844-americans-sold-all-of-their-stuff-because-jesus-was-coming-back.html)
Quite literally, these folks had become so heavenly minded that they had become of no earthly good. They meant well, but their thinking was… wrong.
In our text today, that’s probably WHY the Angels told Jesus’ followers: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:11
Now, why did the angels say what they said? Well, because these men were doing what I’d have done if I’d been there. Jesus had just ascended, and they’re so astonished by what they’ve seen it was if they were transfixed where they stood. They couldn’t move! They were so focused on what had happened that they might have stayed on the mountain for a looong time waiting for Christ to come back.
But they had a job to do. Jesus “had ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me.’” (Acts 1:4) They needed to be in Jerusalem. They needed to be there at Jerusalem for Pentecost - because they had a job to do! So, the angels basically reminded them of that job.
Now, let me clarify: I’m NOT saying we shouldn’t watch for Jesus’ return. I’m saying that that we should be careful to make sure that our watchfulness doesn’t get in the way of working for His kingdom until He does return.
WE WANT TO BE FOUND READY WHEN HE COMES BACK
ILLUS: A little girl had just been taught about the 2nd Coming at Sunday School and she began asking her mother a series of questions. “Mommy, do you believe Jesus will come back?” and Mom replied: “Yes.” The girl persisted “Could he come this week?” “Yes” said her mom. “Today?” the girl asked. “Yes" said mom. “Could he come in the next hour?” “Yes.” “In a few minutes?” “Yes, dear.” “Mommy, would you comb my hair?” (Don Hussong, East Wenatchee, Washington. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 3.)
That little girl wanted to be READY for Jesus’ returned.
II Peter 3:10-12 tells us that WE need to be ready too “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!”
That passage is telling us we SHOULD be waiting for Christ’s return. But while we’re waiting… we need to be actively involved in living lives of holiness and godliness.
Years ago, I told people I thoroughly expected Jesus to show up by age 50. HE MISSED IT BY … THAT MUCH. Now, I was kind of joking - but why not? Why shouldn’t Jesus return before I was 50? I still believe Jesus will return during my lifetime but if He doesn’t, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. If He does NOT show up in the next 50 years - when He DOES come, I’ll rise from the grave to meet Him in the air. And if He DOES SHOW UP before I die… I want to be found working for His kingdom.
ILLUS: Back in 1780, the Connecticut House of Representatives was disrupted when the sky grew ominously dark. There was something about the atmosphere that was very unsettling. It was literally a scary darkness. And some of the representatives were afraid that the end of the world had come. There was a clamor for immediate adjournment, but the speaker of the house rose and said, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is NOT, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty.”
I found a meme on FaceBook that says: “Heaven is my home… I’m just here recruiting.” I will go to heaven… but until that day I intend to work to recruit as many people to go to heaven with me as possible.
Now (that said) there are a number of Radio and TV preachers who push a specific view of the 2nd coming of Christ … and they rarely teach anything else. AND THAT BOTHERS ME. They rarely focus on what we should do until He does come back. And some of their thinking is … unusual.
ILLUS: There was an actual TV commercial that was aired years ago that said this:
“Jesus is coming soon -- PERHAPS TOMORROW! Send $10 for a video that will explain the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! Please allow SIX WEEKS for delivery.”
ILLUS: In the last community I served, I was friends with a Charismatic preacher. One time he asked if I believed in his particular view of the 2nd coming. I explained that I had once believed that theory… but didn’t anymore - I had found that it had too many problems for me to accept it. He was appalled. He said “How can you convert anybody to Christ if you don’t believe this?” And I just laughed. I said that I believed in Jesus’ return…I just didn’t accept what he was trying to teach. I don’t HAVE TO believe in any specific THEORY because I know Jesus IS coming back, but I don’t need a detailed description of what’s going to happen when He does. All I have to know is that I’m ready when He does return. Because HE IS coming back. As II Peter 3 tells us: The day of the Lord WILL COME ---like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10
Now, there’s a flip side to this issue… and it’s summed up by this meme: “Don’t be so earthly minded that you’re of no heavenly good.”
Like I said: I don’t have to believe any specific theory to be ready for Christ’s return. BUT I DO NEED TO BE READY! I don’t want to coast along on my past accomplishments. The problem for too many church goers is – they are so tied up this world (they’re earthly minded) that they stop “being prepared” for Jesus’ coming.
ILLUS: Somebody compared this mindset to the tendency of football teams to “take a knee”. Essentially, one of the teams has won. They don’t need any extra points. Time is running out and so, they line up, hike the ball… and the quarterback kneels down. He “takes a knee” and the play is over. They might do that 2 or 3 times before the game ends, but they do this to “run out the clock” so the other team doesn’t get the ball back and maybe score extra points.
Last weekend, the Eagles beat Green Bay 22 to 10. At the end of the last quarter - all the Eagles needed to do was get a 1st down to make sure that Green Bay couldn’t get the ball back. And then… the Eagles Running-back Saquon Barkley powerfully ran through the Green Bay defenders and there was no one between him and the end zone. All he had to do was run and he’d score another Touchdown. But instead, Barkley just slid to a stop around the 40 yard line. I watched a video of that was recorded by a guy who was VERY disappointed. You could hear him say “Ahhhh… Dude - you could have scored that buddy!!!” But Barkley didn’t score! WHY NOT!!! Why not go for the touchdown? Well, because he didn’t have to. They’d already won the game so why bother?
Now, you can do that in Football - but Jesus warns us not to do that as Christians. Don’t take a knee… don’t just give up because it’s the “end of the game.”
Jesus told a parable a wedding feast THAT WARNED about this. He said: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13)
Jesus was referring to the wedding feasts that were common back in that day. The groom and close friends would make their way to the home of the bride where the groom would collect his bride and escort her to HIS home where they’d sit down for grand banquet. On their way, this group would deliberately wander thru as many streets as possible so lots of people could see them… and cheer them as they passed by.
This parable spoke of a feast that would take place at night. Amongst those invited to the banquet were 10 young women - each of which had a lamp, and each of those lamps was to be lit. Half of these women have brought extra oil with them for their lamps, but the other half (the foolish virgins) had not taken that precaution… and they ran out!
The wedding parade had taken longer than expected and all 10 had dozed off, but finally the wedding party came by and the cry went out, "Behold the bridegroom has come. Come out to meet him." The 10 young women realized they needed to refill the oil inside the lamps. But 5 of them, to their horror, realized they’re out of oil. Those 5 foolish women begged for oil from the wise virgins, but the wise girls replied, "We do not have enough for you and ourselves. Go to the dealers and buy more!" No doubt this irritated the five foolish girls and they stomped off to beg, borrow or buy a bit of oil. In the meantime, the crowd made its way to the groom’s home. Everybody went inside… and the door is shut! And in the final scene of the parable, the foolish women finally get some oil, and they make their way banquet. And they cry out: "Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!". But the groom replies, "I do not know you. And you can’t come it!" (gleaned from a sermon by J. Jeffrey Smead)
Jesus’ point was this: The Groom (Jesus) will come at a time that you don’t expect. AND YOU HAD BEST BE READY. Otherwise… you might find yourself locked out!
There’s an old camp song that goes: “Give me oil for my lamp, keep me burning, burning, burning. Give me oil for my lamp I pray. Give me oil for my lamp, keep me burning, burning, burning. Keep me burning till the break of day.”
The point of the song… keep burning - DON’T STOP!
George Bernard Shaw once wrote: “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
INVITATION
