Spending our time intently soaking in Jesus...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts. And it was in this event from history that we discovered the timeless answer to the question “Where are we sent to?” in that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

We talked about the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveal Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us. Our words and our actions as individuals and in community with one another should affirm and testify to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not a mission that is simply done in partnership with one another. This mission is a mission that is empowered by the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to not only live the Christian life, but to partner with Jesus as He completes His mission. And this mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel is to be a mission that is ever expanding in size and scope.

As followers of Jesus we are to live lives that reveal and reflect Jesus as we share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in our immediate sphere of influence, or our Jerusalem. As followers of Jesus, we are to equip and empower other followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who are not in our immediate sphere of influence, which is our Judea and Samaria. And as followers of Jesus, we are to have a passion to help take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world.

Now a natural objection that could arise at this point is “Well Dave, if that is the case, then why don’t followers of Jesus do what Jesus has commanded them to? If followers of Jesus are sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus, then why do I know people who say they are Christians live lives that look nothing like Jesus and never talk about Jesus, let alone go to church or invite others to church?”

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. And we discover the answer to that question in what Luke records next, which is found in Luke 1:9-11:

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 going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.

Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine watching Jesus being lifted into the Heavens? Now place yourself in the shoes of the disciples; what would be going through your mind? How would you respond to what you had just seen and heard?

The disciples responded to what they had seen and heard by gazing intently into the sky. To gaze intently, in the language that this letter was written in, literally means to stare and look intently at something in a way that reveals that one is impressed. The disciples responded to the amazing things that they had seen and heard by wanting to spend their time simply soaking in the scene. The disciples were content to just remain where they were at and reminisce about what they had just experienced.

How often are we just like the disciples? How often can we find ourselves simply wanting to spend our time intently soaking in Jesus? How often can we find ourselves focused on all that Jesus has done for us instead of what Jesus has called and commanded us to do? How often can we find ourselves so impressed with what Jesus has done among us that we end up not engaging the mission that God has given us to reach those who are not among us?

This is often why followers of Jesus do not do what Jesus commanded them to do. This is why followers of Jesus far too often do not invest and invite those around them who are far from God to explore faith and follow Jesus. You see, far too often as followers of Jesus, we can find ourselves perfectly content soaking in Jesus and biding our time with other followers of Jesus while waiting for Jesus to return instead of engaging those in our world with the message of Jesus.

As the disciples stared into the sky, two angelic messengers, dressed in white clothing and appearing as men, come and stand next to them. However the disciples were so focused and so intent on soaking in what they had experienced, that they had failed to recognize when these two men arrived or their presence, which becomes evident in their response to the disciples in verse 11:

“They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?

In other words “What are you doing? Why are you just standing here staring into the sky all impressed? Aren’t you supposed to be going somewhere? Didn’t Jesus just give you a mission? The angels then continue to confront and comfort the disciples:

 This 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."

The angels explain to the disciples “well, if you think that was impressive, just wait. Just wait because Jesus is going to do something even more impressive. In the future Jesus will return to this very place in the exact same way that He left. So do you want to have Him find you here staring into the sky instead of engaging in the mission that He has given you when He returns?” And today, just as it was for the disciples, we have been given a timeless mission. And that timeless mission is the fact that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

So here is a question to consider: Are you engaged in the mission that Jesus has given us? Or do you simply want to spend your time intently soaking in Jesus? Are you so focused on all that Jesus has done for you that you are not engaged in what Jesus has called and commanded us to do?

Are you living lives that reveal and reflect Jesus as we share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in our immediate sphere of influence, or our Jerusalem? Are you equipping and empowering other followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who are not in our immediate sphere of influence, which is our Judea and Samaria? Do you have a passion to help take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world?

Because the timeless reality is that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the whole world with the message of Jesus…