Title: After the Ascension of Jesus (1)
Jesus is described as the Son of God, but He is also God Himself. So, Jesus is the appearance of God. Jesus is God coming to this earth in human form.
When Jesus was around, how happy, how proud, and how boastful could the disciples be? However, Jesus, who seemed like He would do everything, one day said that dying on the cross was the way to victory, and He was hung on the cross. Of course, he was resurrected and showed his resurrected body to his disciples 11 times in 40 days, but when He eventually ascended to heaven, Jesus left His disciples.
What did the disciples do after that? The answer to this question may be the answer to the question what we should do. Acts 1:6-9 records the last conversation with the disciples just before his ascension to heaven. Imagine that you are a disciple and have met the resurrected Jesus. If you could ask one question, what would that be?
Jesus’s disciples asked Jesus:- (6) “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (7) Then, Jesus’ answer was, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’ So was He saying that there will be a change, the end of the world, the completion of the kingdom of God, or there will be no change? It means there will be changes. However, caring about which day that day is going to be is not something we should do.
That is why we Christians clearly believe in eschatology, but view time-limited eschatology as heresy. Time-limited eschatology is to say what date is the day of the Lord’s Coming. We must study the signs of the end times. And we must prepare for the end. However, people who say what month and what day it is, we should be careful with them. People who talk about months and days can be 99% dangerous, so be careful.
The moment Jesus told us not to worry about this date was just a few minutes before his ascension. Even if the disciples did not know that this would be the last question, Jesus knew that this was the last answer. So it is not a suggestion but a command and order not to worry about it.
So, what did He tell us to care about? (Acts 1:8-9). He told us to bear witness to His word and be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. What is this? It’s evangelism. Evangelism is about bearing witness of the Word and living a life as a witness of Jesus. Isn’t bringing non-believers to church evangelism? It is only one of the results of evangelism, but it is not the entirety of evangelism.
In the past, a senior pastor held an evangelism king selection contest. The senior pastor said he would give a watch to the person who evangelized the most, and all church members put in a lot of effort to evangelize in any way they could.
An elder registered 30 people at the church and received a prize. However, later, another elder said that he had registered 35 people in the church. Then he said that the senior pastor liked Elder A more, so he gave him a watch. The senior pastor is not a person who works out of selfish interest. If he wanted to give the watch to Elder A or anyone, he would give it to him even without making an event like this.
It is said that when the founding pastor was passing by a rural village, he saw a church that has a hole in the roof. Then, he stopped the car, went to the church, and donated all the cash he had to fix the church. So, did he get an IOU receipt or leave a name card? No. So, even if there is no way that these pastors will pay back the money, the founding pastor helped them anyway. This is who the founding pastor was.
Evangelism is not only about bringing people to church, but also testifying of the Word and of God the Father and Jesus. So, God considered not only how many people they brought to the church but the entire process of evangelism that is how much they spread the Word of God and testify to Jesus. And while praying, the founding pastor received this news from God. That’s why the founding pastor gave the prize to Elder A.
When we evangelize, the biggest mistake we make is that you may say, “Pastor, there is no one around me who would come to our church. All my friends have already come to our church before or they are going to another church, I don’t have any new friends anymore.”
Deliver the Word to people around us and testify of Jesus is evangelism. Is it a sin to testify the words of grace you received to someone who goes to another church? No. So, don’t worry, and I ask in the name of the Lord that our church members always strive to evangelize like Jesus’ last request. And I believe that when the fire of evangelism burns brightly, there will be a history of God sending new people to our church. Amen.
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 