The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world,
but in that very special and particular sense,
those who believe on him. Thank God that we have
a gospel to proclaim to men, to tell them that
their sins have been dealt with at the cross,
and their need only is to repent of their sinfulness
and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid
the price for their sins. We are studying together
in the book of Acts. I invite your attention
to Acts chapter 1, beginning with verse 4. The
book of Acts is a book of history. It is a book
of continuity, because it continues to tell us
about Jesus' work, His teaching, and the establishment
of His invisible kingdom in the world. And it
is a book of transition that bridges... The content
of the Gospels telling about the life of the
Lord Jesus Christ with the epistles which tell
about the churches. The book of Acts tells us
how those churches came to be established. Acts
chapter 1 verses 1 through 11 is really more
or less a summary of the conclusion of the Gospel
of Luke. Let me show you what I mean. We'll begin
reading in Acts 1 verse 4. And gathering them
together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem,
but to wait for what the Father had promised,
which, he said, you heard of from me. For John
baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
So when they had come together, they were asking
him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are
restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them,
It is not for you to know the times or epochs
which the Father has fixed by his own authority,
but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses,
both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest part of the earth. And
after he had said these things, he was lifted
up while they were looking on, and a cloud received
him out of their sight. And as they were gazing
intently into the sky while he was departing,
behold, two men in white clothing stood beside
them. And they also said, Men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into the sky? This same
Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will come in just the same way as you have watched
him go into heaven. Now turn with me to the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 24. And let's read how Luke
records the same events, but in slightly different
language. Beginning with verse 44 of Luke 24.
Now he said to them, These are my words which
I spoke to you while I was still with you, that
all things which are written about me in the
law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms
must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds
to understand the scriptures, and he said to
them, Thus it is written that the Christ should
suffer and rise again from the dead the third
day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations
beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of
these things. And behold, I am sending forth
the promise of my Father upon you. But you are
to stay in the city until you are clothed with
power from on high. And he led them out as far
as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them. And it came about that while he was blessing
them, he was parted from them, and they returned
to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually
in the temple praising God. And so we see that
there is very naturally an overlap between how
Luke concludes the gospel that he wrote and how
he begins this book of history regarding the
early church. In the book of Acts, he elaborates
in a simple way upon that same occasion. Now,
as we come to our text in Acts 1, verse 4, you
will notice that there is a particular occasion
in view. It seems to be a retreat. a time when
Jesus stayed with, perhaps even ate with, his
apostles after he had been raised from the dead.
Gathering them together, he commanded them not
to leave Jerusalem, says the text. One impression
that you get from the book of Acts is that Jesus
Christ is in the business of changing. people's
lives. He changed fishermen to become preachers.
Religious followers of Judaism became the joyous
possessors of the Spirit of God. One who was
lame and crippled was able to walk, leap, and
praise God. In the book of Acts, we read that
one of the fierce opponents of the truth was
changed to become a loyal and outspoken proclaimer
of it. Jesus Christ in the book of Acts was in
the business of changing people, and he is still
in the same business today. Jesus Christ changes
the life of anyone who follows him and believes
the promises of the word of God. Jesus Christ
will change your life today. in a significant
way, if you will allow Him. The text that we
have read records three promises. A promise from
the Father, a promise from the Son, and a promise
from the angels. Appropriating and living in
the light of these promises will change your
life. The first promise is the promise of the
baptism, with the Holy Spirit. The second promise,
the promise of power. The third one, the promise
of Christ's return. In the first promise, that
of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we learn
about our new identity in Jesus Christ. In the
promise of power, we learn that we can be empowered
for the witness that we are to give in this world.
And in the promise of His return, We find motivation
to right living. Let's consider those three promises
this morning before we go on our way. Promise
number one, the promise of the baptism with the
Holy Spirit. The promise that Jesus refers to
had been made by the Father and was delivered
by the Son himself. Jesus speaks about what the
Father had promised. and then speaks about their
being baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from that point. Actually, it turned out
to be ten days. What is this baptism with the
Holy Spirit that was promised those disciples?
Will you turn again to the Gospel of Luke, to
the third chapter, and notice the earliest word
about it. Luke chapter 3. Verse 16. And here
we have a comment recorded from John the Baptist.
John answered and said to them all, As for me,
I baptize you with water. But one is coming who
is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie
the thong of his sandals. And, of course, he
is speaking about the Messiah. He goes on to
say, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire. And so here is a word regarding the
baptism with the Holy Spirit. And John says,
the Messiah will take care of this. I baptize
you with water, but he who is mightier than I
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now the
Lord Jesus makes a comment that plugs in here
as well in the 11th chapter of Luke when he instructs
regarding prayer. On one occasion he was praying,
the disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to
pray. And in the 11th chapter of Luke, we find
his response to them. At the end of that paragraph,
the first paragraph in verse 13, Jesus says,
If you then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him? Now, to the Jewish mind, there could
have been no greater request. In fact, it was
even at the point of presumption. It was audacious
to dare to ask such a thing as this. And yet
Jesus said, you as fathers know how to give good
gifts to your children. Don't you think that
your heavenly father would even give the Holy
Spirit to those who would ask him? Luke does
not record the words of the Lord Jesus in the
upper room, but John does. Turn to the Gospel
of John, and we see some more words regarding
the coming of the Holy Spirit. Verse 24 of John
chapter 14. Excuse me, verse 26. John 14. But
the Helper, or the Comforter, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, He will
teach you all things and bring to your remembrance
all that I said to you. And again, several other
times in the context of John chapters 14, 15,
and 16, he speaks about the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit, who would come to them. All of those
refer to the same event that Jesus is recorded
having spoken about in Acts chapter 1, the baptism
with the Holy Spirit. The language may be a little
different, but the same event is in view. Now
let's consider that language of Acts chapter
1. We see that this is not the first time that
this event is mentioned in the Scriptures. But
let's focus now on the language of Acts 1, where
Jesus speaks about the baptism with the Holy
Spirit. The preposition that is found there in
verse 5, translated in the NASV as with the Holy
Spirit, is a Greek preposition that can be translated
several ways. The construction of the sentence
here, however, tells us that it is to be taken
in what is called the instrumental case. What
does that mean? It means that it is the Holy
Spirit. who is the instrument or the means by
whom the baptism will take place. It speaks about
the baptism, we might say, by the Holy Spirit.
It is the baptism which the Holy Spirit will
accomplish. That is the meaning of the phrase.
Now what is this baptism? Well, the word baptize,
as you may know, literally means to dip. or to
immerse. And of course, in a literal sense, that's
exactly what we do when someone is baptized in
water. They are dipped or immersed into that
liquid. But figuratively, baptize has a little
bit of a different connotation. It means to unite
or to identify with. To unite or to identify
with. Obviously, Jesus is not talking here about
literal baptism in water. He is talking about
something that is figurative, the baptism by
or with the Holy Spirit. So he is using the word
baptize in that sense, in the sense of uniting,
in the sense of identifying. And so what it means
is that the Holy Spirit would be the means by
which they, these disciples, would be identified
together with Jesus Christ. Or he is the means
by which they would be united together with Jesus
Christ. Now there are two important things I'm
saying there. United together and with Jesus
Christ. Something brand new was going to take
place with this experience. They, as a group,
would become a body, an entity in the sight of
God. They would be united or identified together.
We see this in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 13, where
it says, For by one Spirit we were all baptized.
into one body. The reference is to the same thing,
the baptism by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
identified us as one body, and today we are one
body, those of us who are saved. That is accomplished
by the Holy Spirit's baptism. But not only are
we identified or united together as a body, we
as a body then are united or identified with
Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
I'm referring especially to the context of Romans
chapter 6, where it says in verse 3, Do you not
know that all of us who have been baptized into
Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death.
Is he talking here about literal baptism? No.
He is talking about a real event, but he's talking
about baptism figuratively again. And he's saying,
don't you know that as many of us as have been
identified or united with Jesus Christ have been
identified or united with him in his death? And
verse 4 goes on to speak about the same being
true regarding the burial. and the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now please understand
that that, in a biblical sense, is the baptism
with the Holy Spirit. You may hear people use
that phrase and define it differently today,
but how they define it is not in concord with
what the Word of God teaches. The baptism with
the Holy Spirit is our uniting together and with
Jesus Christ. It is our being identified together
and with Jesus Christ, and it is the work of
the Holy Spirit. Now that is the promise that
Jesus gave to the apostles on behalf of the Father.
The Father's promise to the disciples and through
them to us is that we would be baptized by the
Holy Spirit that is united together as one body
as the church. and united to Jesus Christ as
our living head. That is a gracious promise on
behalf of God. Because never before in the history
of the world were any people so identified. Never
before. And now in this age, we have that promise
of the Father. That we are one with one another
and with Jesus Christ. What a gracious promise.
marvelous, wonderful promise this is from God.
Now you will notice back in Acts chapter 1 that
to those disciples, Jesus said, wait around Jerusalem
until the promise is fulfilled. And as I've said,
ten days later it was on the day of Pentecost,
a day which we will study in detail when we come
to the second chapter of Acts. Now what about
us today? Do we need to wait for this to happen?
Is there a waiting period? Do we need to hang
around waiting, tarrying for the Holy Spirit?
If so, then we better go to Jerusalem to do our
waiting because that's where Jesus told them
to wait and we would be no different. No, the
truth is that we need not today wait and tarry
for the Holy Spirit to come. If that were the
norm for this age, we would find some word about
that in the epistles of the New Testament. Keep
in mind that the book of Acts is a transitional
book, and there are some things that take place
in this book that never happen again and never
need to happen again. The Holy Spirit came on
the day of Pentecost. Historically, that baptism
with the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. The coming
of the Holy Spirit need not happen again. Indeed,
it cannot happen again any more than Calvary
can occur again. Never are we commanded in the
New Testament to wait for the Holy Spirit beyond
what the disciples were told on that day, and
that's over and done with. Never are we commanded,
never are we commanded to be baptized with the
Holy Spirit. as there are some who proclaim today.
Never once are we commanded to be baptized with
the Holy Spirit. Does that not seem odd to you,
if it's something we are to seek? If it's something
we are to wait for? It certainly strikes me odd.
Surely then, we would find numerous commands
to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Why is there
no command regarding that? Because it is not
something that we need seek. It is not something
we need wait for. Because you see, at the very
moment that we trust the Lord Jesus Christ, at
that instant, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit.
At that moment, the Holy Spirit identifies us
with other believers and with Jesus Christ. At
that instant of time when we trust Christ, we
are united with one another and with our Lord.
Therefore, we need not seek this baptism with
the Holy Spirit. It occurs at the moment of salvation.
And though we may not have realized it, we may
not have experienced it in our senses, it nonetheless
occurred at that moment. And that is the Father's
promise. That is the Father's promise, that today
those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
are at that moment of faith. brought into the
family of God and united to the church, the body
of Christ, and we are identified with Christ
in His death, burial, and resurrection. As God
sees the world, there are only two categories
of people in it. There are those who are in Christ
because of this baptism by the Holy Spirit, and
there are those who are not in Christ. There
are the saved and there are those who are lost.
And every person listening to me at this moment
is in one category or another. There is no middle
ground. There is no fence to sit upon. Every
person is either in Jesus Christ or he is not
in Jesus Christ. You see, this baptism of the
Holy Spirit is that which gives us a new identity
before God. And my friend, to go to heaven, you
have to have that. There is no one who goes to
heaven with his old identity in Adam. We have
to have that new identity in Jesus Christ. And
it comes at the moment that we trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ and receive him by faith to be our
Lord and Savior. That promise of the Father is
a wonderful promise. If you are saved here today,
God has already fulfilled that promise in your
life. The second promise that we see is the promise
of power. This is the promise of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Notice the context of it. It says that
when they had come together, and this apparently
is a different occasion than the previous two
verses. Indeed, it seems as though this occasion
is the Mount of Olives. When Jesus met with his
disciples shortly before he ascended, as we see
later in the text, even at this point, 40 days
after his resurrection, the main concern of the
disciples was the kingdom in a political sense.
And that's why they kept on asking him, seems
to be the meaning of verse 6. They kept on saying,
Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the
kingdom to Israel? By this time and by restoring
they mean, are you now at this point going to
bring back the kingdom, the political entity
to Israel? Are you going to throw off the Gentile
bondage? Are you going to overthrow Rome and
allow Israel to be the kingdom that you have
promised she would be? Is it at this time, Lord?
Now, if there were to be no literal earthly kingdom,
what an opportune time for Jesus to have said,
fellas, you've got it all wrong. There isn't
going to be a literal kingdom. Get that out of
your minds, will you please? Israel is not going
to be restored on the earth. All we have now
is a spiritual kingdom. Fellows, don't you see
that? But did Jesus correct them? No. Did he
rebuke them for such a question? No. Why is that?
Because their question was valid. Because there
is a time coming when that kingdom will be established
on the earth. They were not wrong in thinking
that there would be a political kingdom upon
the earth given to Israel and God would rule
the world through that kingdom. They were not
wrong in the question. But notice Jesus didn't
answer it. He didn't answer the question. Rather,
he said to them, It's not for you to know the
times or the epics. The word time here refers
to the duration of things, the passage of time.
The word epics or seasons refers to critical
periods of history, to a definite fixed period
of time. And so really what Jesus is saying to
them is, men, that is not your concern, how history
is going to be fulfilled and what the periods
of time will bring upon the earth. That is not
to be your concern. Do not be preoccupied with
the events and the periods of history, for God
has them under control. He says the Father has
fixed those things by his authority. Rather,
he is saying to them, be concerned about the
job I'm giving you. And he goes on to say in
verse 8, you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my
witnesses. That is the job that they were to
be concerned about. In essence, Jesus is saying,
fellas, don't get too bent out of shape regarding...
useless speculations about the kingdom and when
it's going to be. The Father has those taken
care of. Leave it with Him. But you, you be my
witnesses. You get the job done that I'm giving
you for this period of time that you're in the
world. And you'll receive power to do it. And
that's His promise. He's given us a job to do,
and He's given us the ability to get it done.
And that ability is the power that he mentions
in verse 8. Now what is this power? Let me just
simply say that it is nothing less, get this,
it is nothing less than the power by which he
was raised from the dead. Have you ever seen
that kind of power? You may go to the largest
generating plant in the world. You can go to
a large dam, for example, the Aswan Dam in Egypt,
or to a nuclear power plant and see unbelievable
power being produced, but you will never see
power enough to bring somebody back from the
dead. If it could be done, man would have done
it by now. We simply do not have that kind of
power. But that, my friend, is the kind of power
that Jesus Christ has promised to us who are
his witnesses. It is the power of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. It is the energy and the might
by which he came back from the realm of the dead.
and from the grip of the grave, and was alive
and alive forevermore. Ray Stedman, in his book,
Birth of the Body, says, Now what kind of power
is Jesus talking about? He says it is resurrection
powers, the power of the risen Lord. There is
no way to overthrow it, no way to stop it. Every
obstacle thrown in its path is only turned into
an opportunity to advance. You can find many
demonstrations of this power in the Gospels and
in church history. Every attempt to resist the
working of the Holy Spirit simply opens the door
wider, for this is Christ's resurrection power
at work. I do not like to see the opposition
to our faith that is beginning to develop in
our nation, but there is a positive side to that,
and it is that the greater the opposition, the
greater the power that will be displayed in bringing
the victory of Jesus Christ. For there is no
obstacle that can be formed that will successfully
cause the gospel to retreat. For it is proclaimed
in the power of the Holy Spirit, and that is
the greatest power in the universe. It is the
power of God. And that is the power that God
gives to you and to me as His witnesses. The
word witness is a key one in the New Testament,
or rather in the book of Acts. Thirteen times
it is used in Acts in singular or plural form.
Twenty plus other times you find it as a verb
or in other forms of a word. Barclay says that
there are three things about a witness that we
should understand. Number one, a witness is only
to tell what he knows. No witness in a court
of law is allowed to give his opinion, secondhand
information, or his ideas. That is unacceptable.
Rather, he must tell what he knows to be true.
So it is with us. We cannot witness secondhand
information. We can only share with others what
we know to be true in our own lives. Secondly,
we must be willing to seal... The words of our
witness with our blood. Now that idea is tied
up with the very word for witness, for the word
witness in the Greek is the same word that we
call martyr. If we're going to witness for Jesus
Christ, it must be with the full commitment knowing
this could require our lives. Number three. The
words of a witness must be backed by a life that
is consistent, else those words have either no
meaning or they have reverse results. I suppose
all of us have heard of H .M. Stanley, the reporter
from London who went to Africa to search out
David Livingston. Mr. Livingston, I presume,
was his famous statement. After he had found
David Livingston there in Central Africa, and
after some time with him, he wrote this sentence.
If I had been with him any longer, I would have
been compelled to be a Christian, and he never
spoke to me about it at all. Now, why was that?
Because the power in his life, it was so real.
And that's the way some of you are in your offices,
and Jesus Christ is using you in such a significant
way. They're at work in your factory, or they're
in the police force, or they're in that secretarial
pool. The life has such a power, such a cutting
edge to it. Are you a witness for Jesus Christ?
Jesus said, you shall be my witnesses. not witnesses
about a religion, not witnesses of a church,
not proclaimers of an ethical system. He said,
you shall be my witnesses, personal. And that's
what we are. We proclaim what we know about him.
And we are given the power of the Holy Spirit
so that our words are not just our words. But
God uses those words in ways that we cannot imagine.
When one person filled with the Holy Spirit,
controlled by the Holy Spirit, dominated by the
Holy Spirit, goes into a situation and shares
a word of witness, the place reverberates. Now,
he may not sense it. He may feel that the word
has had no impact. and yet God tells us that
his power has been there, and there is result.
It may be hidden behind the mask of a face that
does not respond, but down in that heart there
is an earthquake taking place because the power
of the resurrection is involved in that witness.
You remember that this week as you go to that
friend and neighbor to invite them to come to
church next Sunday. As you perhaps have an opportunity
to share with them what the Lord means to you,
either this week or perhaps after the service
next week or before, use this as a stepping stone
into their lives, inviting them, that is. Don't
say that you're going to invite them to church
and that's all that there is to witnessing. That's
not it at all. That's one of the ways that we
can influence them. But you remember that as
you share your faith, Even though you feel it's
an insignificant word, if you are under the power
of the Holy Spirit, that word of yours has a
dynamic impact in the life. And that one that
you're talking to cannot escape it. He cannot
escape it, however much he may try. The Lord
has given us a marvelous assignment. We're to
be his witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.
That's the area around us and to the uttermost
parts. That last phrase, by the way, was a phrase
they used in that day to describe Rome. To describe
Rome. What kind of an impact did the early church
have in the Roman Empire? Listen to the words
of Justin Martyr, who lived in the first century
A .D., a believer. He said, There is not a single
race of human beings, barbarians, Greeks, or
whatever name you please to call them, nomads
or vagrants or herdsmen living in tents, where
prayers in the name of Jesus the crucified are
not offered up. Though all the members of the
body, through all the members of the body, rather,
is the soul spread, and so are Christians throughout
the cities of the world. while later said we
the Christians are but of yesterday yet we have
filled all the places you frequent cities lodging
houses villages townships markets the camp itself
the tribes town councils the palace the Senate
and the forum all we have left you is your temples
behold every corner of the universe has experienced
the gospel and the whole ends and bounds of the
world are occupied with the gospel. That was
as much as they were aware of in that day, because
there were not the means of communication and
transportation we have. But as fully as they
knew the world of that day, they had covered
it with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And think
of all the technology that we have today, all
the opportunities that we have. Surely in the
power of the Holy Spirit, we must be busy about
this matter of witnessing, fulfilling our mission.
And finally, we have the promise of Christ's
return. The Father's promise of the baptism with
the Holy Spirit, the promise of power so that
we can be effective witnesses, and now the promise
of Christ's return. After Jesus had said these
things, he was lifted up. While they were looking
on, notice that Luke includes that little phrase.
They were watching when this took place. He doesn't
tell us just how. But as they listened and watched
him, he was lifted up from them. He departed
from them. And a cloud received him out of their
sight. Perhaps the Shekinah glory of God, which
is described as a cloud. Perhaps a literal cloud
of the atmosphere. But they were watching intently
as he went away, and the cloud then took him
out of their sight. And as they were watching
into heaven, behold, beside them there were these
two men in white apparel, obviously angels, and
they too gave a promise. They said, now men of
Galilee, not necessarily a compliment. To be
from Galilee was not the thing you'd brag about.
They were reminding these men that in themselves
they were nothing. They were insignificant, just
from Galilee. But you men of Galilee, why are
you standing here gazing up into heaven? Don't
you know that this same Jesus is going to come
back just as he went into heaven? And so from
the angels we have the promise of Christ's return.
Only Luke records this event of Jesus' ascension.
Mark mentions it. He mentions the fact, but only
Luke records the event as it happened. There
had to be something like this, some climactic
conclusion to his earthly ministry. His appearances
couldn't have just faded out. As his entrance
into time required an act of a moment, so his
departure required the same. And what was the
reaction of the apostles? Grief and sorrow because
Jesus was now gone? No. Luke tells us that they
went back rejoicing. Rejoicing. In their houses
and in the temple, they were filled with great
joy. Why? Because of the promise that Jesus was
coming back. Now, they expected him to come at
any moment, even as we do today. The fact that
he did not come in the first century does not
in any way detract from the fact that he could
come today, on this day of October in 1984. Jesus
Christ's return, we learn here, will be personal.
This same Jesus will come back. It will be visible.
He will go just as he came, visibly. And may
I just throw in here that... Technically speaking,
the angels are talking about not the rapture
of the church, which had not been revealed at
this point, but the second coming of Christ back
to the Mount of Olives when every eye will see
him and his feet will touch again on the top
of that mountain. His return will be personal,
it will be visible, and it is certain he will
come. My friend, the return of Jesus Christ is
the only hope. for the dying world around us.
His return is the only answer to the ecological,
political, economic, social time bomb which unregenerate
man has put together. And surely it will not
be long before God intervenes in history, draws
back the curtain, and concludes the flow of history
as we have known it for the last 2 ,000 years.
In our living room, I should say in our family
room, we have a fireplace and a mantle, and on
top of that mantle is a clock. It has a pendulum
on it. I can go over to that clock, open the
door, reach in and take a hold of that pendulum
and stop it. I can do that because the clock
belongs to me and because as a human being I
have the power to bring that instrument to a
halt. Don't you think that the almighty God who
brought this world into existence by his word
and who established the flow of human history
can step in any time he pleases, put his hand
on the pendulum and say, that's... He's the creator.
And as God, he has the authority to do it. And
when Jesus returns, that is exactly what's going
to happen. Human history as it has been will
be no more. You say, what application is there
in this for us? Well, first of all, get busy.
We have a job to do. We do not want to be so
heavenly -minded that we're no what? Right. Earthly
good. God has given us a job in this world, and
our time is short. So may I exhort you in light
of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, which
God has promised. Whatever you intend to do for
God in this world, do it now. Do it now. Don't
put it off for some time to come when it will
be more convenient or you'll have more money.
Don't put it off until retirement or whatever
it may be that is delaying you from the work
of God. Do it now while you have the time. Today
is the day of salvation. Today is our day of
opportunity. Get busy for Jesus Christ. My second
application is this, that this promise changes
the focus of life. There are some people whose
focus of life gets all tied up with past mistakes
and failures, sometimes with past successes as
well. And they're always looking to the good
old days or laboring under the load of the bad
old days. And there are others who are so involved
in the present with its circumstances, its challenges,
and its goals that they don't take time to get
the right perspective on life. Realize that we
are moving, dear people, toward the consummation
of our salvation. And allow that expectation
of Jesus' return to give you the focus on life
with all of its issues that you ought to have.
And live the life that you would like to have
lived if today you were to stand in Jesus' presence.
Don't come before him with regret in your heart,
but live today as you want to, so that when you
give an account before him, you'll not have to
be ashamed. John says, he that has this hope
in him purifies himself, even as he, the Lord,
is pure. This promise of Jesus Christ's return
is the greatest purifier I know of our lives.
Now, there are three promises. Each of them is
life -changing. If you are outside of Jesus Christ
and you've never trusted him as your Savior,
that first promise is one that you need to claim,
the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And by that
I mean you need today to trust Jesus Christ.
And claim the promise that you will be identified
with him in his death, burial, and resurrection.
That what he did for you at the cross will be
sufficient for your sins. It is. Will you claim
it? The promise of power. It may be that you
are struggling along as a believer on your own.
Trying to do your own thing. Or maybe trying
to do God's thing, but in your own power. Jesus
said, here's my power. Employ it. Use it. Perhaps
you're living a life that shows you've forgotten
that Jesus is coming back. Will you today look
for him? Remember that promise? There's a special
reward for those that look for him. Are you expecting
him today? Let that change your life. Heavenly
Father, I pray that today there will be at least
one promise here that each of us will be able
to claim and appropriate. And I pray that that
will change our lives, the focus, the direction,
perhaps even the destiny of our lives. Work in
us to make that decision that we need to make
from this challenge of your word. In Jesus' name
I pray. Amen.