| ACTS 1 VERSE 6 & 7 |
By Reverend Don Boucher
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6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at
this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
The disciples had a preconceived notion about what the Lord was going
to do in their time. They were convinced that the scriptures testified to
a specific set of events. Which they do, but they wanted to know
about the timing. Jesus told them the timing was up to God, just like
the details are up to God. There is a lot of debate about the end times
and how they are going to take place. I have a view that is biblical like
many others. We should however give each other some liberty around
the details. The amount of positions around the issues should lead one
to the conclusion that we just might not know what God is planning.
“You search the scriptures for you think that in them you have eternal
life, they are what speak of me” Jesus said. The experts didn’t know
then, they might not know now. Jesus said give no thought for
tomorrow for today has enough troubles of its own.” Faith is always
lived in the now. Moment by moment, we are to seek to obey and
serve God. Now that does not mean that we don’t make plans for the
future. But our future plans are set before the Lord. Don’t say I will
do this or that the writer of James tells us, but if the Lord wills I will do
this or that. The real issue that Jesus wanted them to concentrate on
was power. It was not power for power sake; it was power for witness
sake. They had moved in power before. They had healed the sick,
raised the dead and cast out devils. They had not done it in the shadow
of the cross however, now they were going to. The power they would
receive was one in which they would be bold to preach. The signs and
wonders would follow confirming their authority. But they would not
be running and hiding now. Now they were coming to a time in which
they would rejoice that they had been counted worthy to suffer for
Jesus. They would be able to say. “We must obey God and not Man”
7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates
the Father has set by his own authority.
The Lord has not given all of His authority on Earth to men. He has
reserved times and dates for Himself, wars and rumors of wars, the
bringing forth of a new soul upon the earth, the directing of the steps of
the righteous, He has reserved for himself. He said of Paul, “he will
suffer much for my sake and preach the Gospel to the gentiles. When
the positional righteous, (those saved and washed in the blood of Jesus)
become the practically righteous, (those giving the Lord all their lives)
they will see the Lord do more with their lives then they could ever
have anticipated. They will not be focused on what God is doing in the
future but saving souls in the present. They will not be looking for
personal position but divine anointing. They will go from confessing
that the Lord does “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we can
hope for or image to living more abundantly, and exceedingly than they
ever imagined.” They will be healthier, wealthier, and happier then
they thought possible. They will dwell with their wives or husbands in
a knowledge and Love they had not expected. Their children will rise
and call them blessed. They when find they have friendships like
Jonathan and David. They will have the scriptures unlocked for them
so that the can produce a life that is seen in heaven as Gold, Silver, and
Precious stone and not as wood, hay, and stubble. They will preach
the Gospel publicly and from house to house. They will find that in the
times and dates that the Lord has set by His own authority; they will be
placed in indispensable positions.
The world we tell you that you can be replaced, “ask your children if
any man can be their Daddy or any women their Mommy. Ask your
Mother and Father if anyone will do at special events and parties. No,
if you are blessed then people are looking for you. If you have not had
the privilege of good family or good friends, the Lord desires to grant
you more than anything people who love you. Additionally, If you are
walking in the times and authority that God has placed for you, you will
have a job in which you are the expert, in which you are a vital
member of a team that God has placed you in. If you are not there yet,
just say with Paul, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me. He learned to be content when he had much and when he had
little. Paul never lost His future orientation. I press on to the high
calling in Christ Jesus.
this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
The disciples had a preconceived notion about what the Lord was going
to do in their time. They were convinced that the scriptures testified to
a specific set of events. Which they do, but they wanted to know
about the timing. Jesus told them the timing was up to God, just like
the details are up to God. There is a lot of debate about the end times
and how they are going to take place. I have a view that is biblical like
many others. We should however give each other some liberty around
the details. The amount of positions around the issues should lead one
to the conclusion that we just might not know what God is planning.
“You search the scriptures for you think that in them you have eternal
life, they are what speak of me” Jesus said. The experts didn’t know
then, they might not know now. Jesus said give no thought for
tomorrow for today has enough troubles of its own.” Faith is always
lived in the now. Moment by moment, we are to seek to obey and
serve God. Now that does not mean that we don’t make plans for the
future. But our future plans are set before the Lord. Don’t say I will
do this or that the writer of James tells us, but if the Lord wills I will do
this or that. The real issue that Jesus wanted them to concentrate on
was power. It was not power for power sake; it was power for witness
sake. They had moved in power before. They had healed the sick,
raised the dead and cast out devils. They had not done it in the shadow
of the cross however, now they were going to. The power they would
receive was one in which they would be bold to preach. The signs and
wonders would follow confirming their authority. But they would not
be running and hiding now. Now they were coming to a time in which
they would rejoice that they had been counted worthy to suffer for
Jesus. They would be able to say. “We must obey God and not Man”
7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates
the Father has set by his own authority.
The Lord has not given all of His authority on Earth to men. He has
reserved times and dates for Himself, wars and rumors of wars, the
bringing forth of a new soul upon the earth, the directing of the steps of
the righteous, He has reserved for himself. He said of Paul, “he will
suffer much for my sake and preach the Gospel to the gentiles. When
the positional righteous, (those saved and washed in the blood of Jesus)
become the practically righteous, (those giving the Lord all their lives)
they will see the Lord do more with their lives then they could ever
have anticipated. They will not be focused on what God is doing in the
future but saving souls in the present. They will not be looking for
personal position but divine anointing. They will go from confessing
that the Lord does “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we can
hope for or image to living more abundantly, and exceedingly than they
ever imagined.” They will be healthier, wealthier, and happier then
they thought possible. They will dwell with their wives or husbands in
a knowledge and Love they had not expected. Their children will rise
and call them blessed. They when find they have friendships like
Jonathan and David. They will have the scriptures unlocked for them
so that the can produce a life that is seen in heaven as Gold, Silver, and
Precious stone and not as wood, hay, and stubble. They will preach
the Gospel publicly and from house to house. They will find that in the
times and dates that the Lord has set by His own authority; they will be
placed in indispensable positions.
The world we tell you that you can be replaced, “ask your children if
any man can be their Daddy or any women their Mommy. Ask your
Mother and Father if anyone will do at special events and parties. No,
if you are blessed then people are looking for you. If you have not had
the privilege of good family or good friends, the Lord desires to grant
you more than anything people who love you. Additionally, If you are
walking in the times and authority that God has placed for you, you will
have a job in which you are the expert, in which you are a vital
member of a team that God has placed you in. If you are not there yet,
just say with Paul, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me. He learned to be content when he had much and when he had
little. Paul never lost His future orientation. I press on to the high
calling in Christ Jesus.
Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2006