Advent Week 4: We’re Waiting for Christ to Return!

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

(Acts 1:4-10)

Angels must think we are cute sometimes. At least that’s what I imagine. The disciples joy was restored at the realization that Jesus was alive and after He assured them that they will baptize with the Holy Spirit, they watched Christ ascend to heaven before their eyes. They were still staring at the sky when the angels approached them and said, “Hey, why are you looking at the sky?” I can just picture the scene and it makes me laugh. I would still be looking at the sky, too!

But even though the question sounds funny, it was meant to wake them up. There’s is no need to stare at the sky because Jesus will come back at the time that the Father chooses. In the meantime, the Lord has work for us to do, and that is to fulfill His will for our lives.

Angels are messengers. That’s what the word angel actually means. Sometimes we need a message at a crucial moment to jar us awake. Remember, these disciples had been locking themselves in a room for days out of fear and now that they knew Jesus was alive, God wanted them to wait for the power He was to bestow on them so they would go out and preach, even to the ends of the earth!

Stop gawking at the sky, people. Jesus will come back. Now go, and wait for what I have in store for you!

So, they did.  The disciples went into an upper room, but this time they prayed together and they cast lots to replace Judas (who had hanged himself for betraying Jesus) with Matthias. By the time Pentecost arrived, they were still together, but something wonderful happened:

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)

I like how they were in one accord, or agreement. There was no division, like when Thomas didn’t believe that Jesus was risen until he actually saw Him again. This time, they were not waiting in fear, but in anticipation. They knew that Jesus was alive and had a mission for them.

God fulfilled His promise. The Holy Spirit descended on them as tongues on fire, and rested on each of them. With that, the disciples burst out of their room and spoke to the people about Jesus, and the crowd outside was amazed, because they understood the message in their own language, even though they were from different nations.

We pretty much know the rest of this story. The twelve apostles, and then later, the apostle Paul, preached the truth about Jesus to many people, and many were saved by God’s grace and their belief. Several of the apostles were killed for doing this, but they did not live in fear of their lives, because they knew who Jesus was, and that He had prepared a room for them in His Father’s house.

They were not locked in a room, they were not staring at the sky. They lived, until their last breath, working the Lord and spreading the good news about salvation through Christ.

And generations later, millions and millions of us believe. Jesus has not yet returned, and our spirits are still in a state of adventus–we are waiting for Him to come back. Yet, even in this later age, we have to be like those who first knew Him.  We have to  be courageous, through the power of His Spirit, and use the talents and gifts the Lord has given us to serve Him and others.

Not knowing when He is coming means that we have to live every day as if it is the day we will see Jesus again. He told us that He will come like a thief in the night, so we have to keep our hearts right, through faith, confession, repentance, and perseverance. We need to constantly rely on the Spirit, because we cannot make it on our own. That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us, out of compassion, so that we would have a Counsellor and and Guide that will never leave us.  We need to always be ready for Christ’s arrival.

Because though it has been thousands of years, Christ will come back.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:12)

Come, Jesus.  We’re waiting for you.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! I’m taking a wee break and GGY will return on January 13, 2012!

Many blessings! ~Cait G.