Until I Come Again
Acts 1:1-11
Sometimes we get the impression as children of God that our whole hope is found in looking forward. I praise God for the hope of the future; however, there is much more to this Christian life than that. Until we look into the past, we cannot know what the future holds. If we fail to look at the present, we fail to be prepared for what will happen in the future.
You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them! Source unknown
I. UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN; LOOK INTO THE PAST AND FIND HOPE IN WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE. 1-4
A) Luke is the writer of the book of Acts. He tells Theolphilus to remember the first letter he wrote. That was the Gospel of Luke.
B) In the Gospels we find Luke focusing on people. No writer of the Gospels focused more attention on the compassion and love of Christ.
C) We see Hope in the past of what Christ has done:
1) His birth, miraculous and humble
2) His life, flawless—without sin
3) His ministry of miracles in healing the sick
4) His compassion
D) After His resurrection, He gave infallible proofs of the truth of His deity.
Dr. J. Vernon McGhee says “I wonder whether anyone doubts that the Battle of Waterloo was a historical event. Very frankly, I believe that Napoleon lived, and I believe that he fought the Battle of Waterloo. But I have very little evidence for it. Actually there is ten thousand times more evidence for the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ than there is for the Battle of Waterloo, and yet there are people today who say they do not believe it.”
Three months after moving to his farm in Greenville, South Carolina, Bob Olson realized he had a serious problem. A utility pole on the corner of his driveway was in a bad location—so bad that four visitors had hit it with their cars.
Bob called the power company and reported the hazard. Eventually they sent a supervisor to evaluate the situation. After looking it over, the supervisor concluded there was no problem. But as he drove away, a loud thud was heard which shook the entire house. The supervisor had hit the pole—and the next day a crew arrived to move it!
Today in the Word, December 2, 1995, p. 7
II. UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN; LOOK AT THE PRESENT AND FIND HOPE IN WHAT CHRIST IS DOING. 6-9
A) Lord, now? Now? Is this the time for you to set up your kingdom?
B) That is still yet to come….But now I will give you power for living.
C) I believe the church is already in place at this time. What Jesus is telling them about is the great empowerment of the church that would take place on the day of Pentecost.
D) Christ gives us power for living today.
1) Through the Holy Spirit
2) To overcome temptation—Illustration
3) To face life’s problems
4) To spread the Gospel to the world.
One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas.
The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.
Often, Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are “clothed with power” (Luke 24:49) find themselves out of gas. Steve Blankenship, Source unknown
III. UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN; LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND FIND HOPE IN WHAT CHRIST WILL DO. 10-11
A) He will come to set up his long awaited kingdom
B) He will come in the same manner that He left. Zach 14:4 tells us of that day “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
C) I won’t get into all the eschatological specifics today….I believe this will happen at the end of the Seven year Tribulation, when Christ comes to establish his kingdom. I believe that we will already have been with Christ for 7 years at this time…but more importantly than all the specifics of when and how, let me ask you a question that matters more than anything I could ask you. ARE YOU READY FOR THE RETURN OF CHRIST? IF HE CAME BACK TODAY, IF YOU DIED TODAY, DO YOU KNOW, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THAT YOU WOULD SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM?
To escape the distress caused by regret for the past or fear about the future, this is the rule to follow: leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to his good providence; give the present wholly to his love by being faithful to his grace.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade in The Joy of the Saints
