Before Jesus Comes

Luke wrote the book of Acts to his friend Theophilos. In Greek this name means Lover of God. Although this was written to a specific person we realize that it was also written to all who love God. The Book of Acts could be considered a continuation of the story Luke wrote about Jesus. This book is about the work of the Holy Spirit. Luke did not write all that Jesus did and said in the Gospel account . He only wrote down some of what Jesus did. Jesus is still working and we will experience the same power that the disciples experienced today as we follow God.

Before Jesus went up into heaven he had 40 days after his resurrection to explain, some of the things which he could not tell them before his Death.

We want to examine carefully the command which Christ gave His disciple and also us as he departed to be with His Father in Heaven. First we will examine what Christ had to say about the setting up of the Kingdom of God. Then we want to examine the powerful resources we have been given and the work that needs to be done.

Nearly 200 years have passed since the time that Christ spoke to his disciples and departed with the words we find in Acts.

In verse 7 Jesus told his disciples that no one will know when Christ will come and set up His kingdom. Isaiah 11:6 - 11 tells of this kingdom. The disciples knowing this scripture had not yet been fulfilled in Christ's life were wondering when this would occur. Unfortunately people have falsely claimed to know the time when Christ will return. Jehovah, Witnesses, Adventists, Moonies and d others have boldly proclaimed the return of Christ. But they were wrong and anyone who prophesizes the end cannot be trusted because Christ has clearly said that only God could know the end.

Since we do not know the time of Christ's return in the Bible tells us that we need to be alert and watching. We need to live our lives in such a way that if were right now we would be ready to meet him. I Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us that Jesus will come suddenly without warning.

Would Jesus be happy with our words or actions. Could we invite Jesus to sit and watch our favourite TV program? Could we have Jesus come and examine our thought life? Are our thoughts always of kindness; love and compassion? Or are we lustful, angry and mean that when Jesus returns to this earth he will come and those who obey and follow him will be with Him forever. Are you ready for Jesus to return?

To get ready for that special day God has given to us special responsibilities and power. That responsibility is found in verse 8. We also are given the strength to obey God's commands. We need to be ready for the return of Christ and seek to help others be ready for that important and exciting day. That is the mission of the church.

God never gives us a task without first giving us the resources to complete it. God has given to every Christian the Holy Spirit and also special Spiritual gifts.

Looking at verse 5 we read that Christ promised to baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The word baptism is a Greek word that was transliterated into English and Japanese. There was an English word washing or immerse which could have been used. If we are completely surrounded and covered with the Holy Spirit we will be immersed in Him. We will become pure and holy. Ephesians 1:13,14 tells us that we receive the Holy Spirit when we believe that Jesus died for our sins. God's Spirit surrounds us with his love and protection.

Some Christian groups teach that at the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a special experience something like when we be come Christians. They teach that the sign of baptism in the Spirit, is speaking in tongues. If you do not experience this spiritual gift of God then you are not truly spiritual. I do not believe that this is completely correct. In verse 5 Jesus told his disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit and in verse 8 he tells them that they will receive power. I believe that these refer to the same thing. In Gal 5:18 we are told d to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we already have the Spirit, how can we be filled? This verse is referring to receiving the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is present in our life but we use his power. .We must have our spiritual energy refilled by the Holy Spirit. It is like going to the gas station to get our tanks filled with gasoline so that we can travel further along our spiritual road. This filling is a repeated experience.

The Holy Spirit is power. We do not seek power but we are to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that those who received the Holy Spirit would be filled with "dunamis" dynamite. When I look at some Christians the only dynamite they show is their temper. They are not at all powerful for God. God will blow out all our sinful nature and use us to blow up Satan's kingdom where ever we go. We need to make sure that we channel God's energy for the right cause, the fight against Satan and not against other Christians.

Once God has given us power what does He want us to do with it? He wants us to be witnesses. Jesus commanded his disciples to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Samaria and unto the utter parts of-the earth. For the disciples when Jesus said they were to be witnesses in Jerusalem it meant that they were to be witnesses to their own neighborhood. Next they were to go to their neighbours in Judea and in the next province or Samaria. Then they were to go to the regions beyond their own land.

For us this would mean that we are to be witnesses in our own town. Then we are to be witnesses, to those among our relatives -, and our neighboring areas. For us this could mean that we are to go to Hatukaichi, Numata or Yuki. where there are no evangelical churches. Those places become the Judea for us. Next we are to spread out to the neighboring provinces. This means that God wants us to spread out to the islands in the Inland sea, Yamaguchi Ken, Tottori Ken and perhaps as far as Oyama Ken.

Then God wanted them to go to the uttermost parts of the earth. We cannot do this individually but we are doing this as a body of believers. For me it meant leaving my country and coming to Japan to be obedient to God to be a witness to the Japanese. The Japanese church has sent Mr. & Mrs Manabe to Paupa New Guinea. The team that went to a tribe in Indonesia has been so successful that most of the people in that tribe have become Christians. There are still many other places in the world where people do not know enough about Christianity to accept it or reject it.

We look forward to seeing many people not only in our area to come to know God in a very personal way through belief in Jesus Christ but wouldn't it be wonderful if we could see the same thing happen as happened in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and the time after.
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