Thursday: Witnesses
Read Acts 1:1-8. What important truths about the kingdom of God are being expressed here?
The kingdom of God was foremost in the mind of Luke as he wrote a sequel to his Gospel, in the form of a brief history of the early church. In the opening lines of that historical account, the book of Acts, Luke states three fundamental truths regarding the kingdom of God.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
First, be sure that Jesus will come again. For 40 days between His resurrection and ascension, the Lord continued to teach what He had taught the disciples before His crucifixion: things pertaining to the kingdom of God
(Acts 1:3, NKJV). The mighty events of the cross and the resurrection had not changed anything in the teaching of Jesus in regard to the kingdom; if anything, for 40 days the risen Jesus continued to impress on the disciples the reality of the kingdom.
Second, be waiting for Jesus to come again in God’s own time. After His resurrection, Jesus’ disciples asked a serious and anxious question: Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
(Acts 1:6, NKJV). Jesus did not answer the question but corrected the disciples’ perspective: God must always be God; to probe His mind, to predict the preciseness of His plans, to penetrate His secrets is not the task of flesh and blood. He knows when the kingdom of glory should come, and He will bring it to pass in His own time (Acts 1:7, Matt. 24:36), just as when the fullness of the time had come
(Gal. 4:4) He sent His Son to inaugurate the kingdom of grace.
Third, be witnesses to the gospel of Jesus. Christ redirected the disciples from speculation about what is not known-when the kingdom of glory will come-to what is known and must be done. The time of the Second Coming is not revealed, but we are called upon to wait for that glorious day and to occupy
till then (Luke 19:13). This means that we should be involved in taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the end of the earth
(Acts 1:8, NKJV). That is our responsibility-not in our own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit, promised to be poured out on all those who shall be witnesses to what they have seen and heard (vss. 4-8).
These faithful followers of Jesus still had some big misconceptions about the nature of Christ’s work. And yet, the Lord was using them anyway. What message might there be for us about not needing to fully understand everything in order to still be used by God?
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“Can you reach my friend?” is likely a common prayer; but more difficult and less frequent it is to pray, “Can you reach my enemy?” What does it say if Christians claim to be true witnesses but express indifference towards the salvation of supposed enemies, or worse quietly wish for their condemnation?
When Lucifer envied the Commander of the angels (Jude 1:9) because of the honor conferred on Him and threatened the government of the Most High (Isaiah 14:13, 14) he was not immediately consumed in the presence of a holy God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and fellow angels loved and sought to save Satan when he became arch enemy of God’s Kingdom. The war in heaven only became necessary after the effort to save, and the Son (Michael) never ceased to love (Revelation 12:7)
EGW observed,
“There was contention among the angels. Lucifer and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God. They were discontented and unhappy because they could not look into His unsearchable wisdom and ascertain His purposes in exalting His Son, and endowing Him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son.
Angels that were loyal and true sought to reconcile this mighty, rebellious angel to the will of his Creator. They justified the act of God in conferring honor upon Christ, and with forcible reasoning sought to convince Lucifer that no less honor was his now than before the Father had proclaimed the honor which He had conferred upon His Son…The angels wept. They anxiously sought to move him to renounce his wicked design and yield submission to their Creator; for all had heretofore been peace and harmony, and what could occasion this dissenting, rebellious voice?” (The Story of Redemption p. 15, 16)
In witness the faithful long to reach not just their friends, but also those who are against them.
There is a multiplicity of "important truths" inherent within this passage. 1)The Kingdom of God is still viable even though Jesus has died because He is again alive. 2)The proof of this is that He was with the disciples in a most demonstrable way spending 40 days personally with them continuing to instruct them in matters of the Kingdom which they still did not fully comprehend, if at all! 3)He laid out for them, specific instructions as to what they should do and where they should begin and where to progress. This was 31 AD (CE) and only 486 and a half years into the prophecy declared to Daniel by Gabriel setting aside 70 weeks for Daniel's people and city. Consequently, Jesus instructed His disciples to begin at Jerusalem, where the Jews were, then expand to Judea, Samaria and to the "Uttermost parts of the world." That, historically, is just what happened through them and the deacons notable Stephen and Philip. Finally, Saul (Paul) was selected to be Jesus' witness to the Gentiles. 4)Ultimately, they were told that they would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (Ghost) after which they would do the most natural thing as a result: they would tell what they had seen and heard; nothing more, nothing less.
"This means," according to the lesson Quarterly, "that we should be involved in taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to 'the end of the Earth.'"
I would insert, "Including, but not limited to 'the ends of the Earth.'" Because, sometimes we set our focus on the far reaches of the deepest heart of the jungles or Borneo, which we should do, but not to the exclusion of the disillusioned Adventist brother or sister in the pew behind or in front of us. That one soul may be in our fellowship but just as lost and the native in Java.
Hence, Go ye into all the world, including, but not limited to, the church, the neighborhood, the jungle and the town, and tell what you have seen and heard! Nothing more, nothing less!
And, may I add #5) Don't program the Holy Spirit. Let Him do His work.
We have an assurance Jesus is returning to take us home. We are admonished to be ready by Christ Himself Matthew 24:24. "Watch and wait till I return." "And feed my lamb's, take care of My Sheep, feed My Sheep"
John 21:15,16,17.
Matthew 24:44. This is the text I had had in mind. Though Matthew 24:24. Is a good text to also prepare us for His second coming.