Are we there yet?
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Let’s pray:
My message comes this morning from the book of Acts chapter 1.
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The backdrop for this narrative conversation is this: Jesus walked the earth with his disciples teaching, admonishing, and making promises about what the Kingdom of God would be like. And then, he died at the hands of the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders. And on the third day - he rose from the dead. He spent 40 days with his disciples.
All of this seems miraculous to those who are with him.
And he made promises about what heaven would be. So they might be a little excited.
He just finished a promise that they would be baptized in the holy spirit.
They might think - hey, we are ready. Lets do this Right now!
So they asked…
Lord, are you doing this now?
How many times have we asked that very question ourselves.
When things get really good - or when things get really bad.
Lord - are you here to pick me up?
Lord are you ready?
The world’s got itself in a big hurry - are you here yet?
Are we there yet?
We want to know.
Because our situation is dire - and our promise is great.
Even if you have lived a wonderful life, and some of us have, the promise of heaven is better. Lord I would take streets of dirt if they were grated better than the streets of keokuk, we don’t even need gold if that’s what you’re waiting on. We can bond for that.
God I don’t even need a mansion on a hill - in fact, just a nice condo would be fine - if you’re taking care of the maintenance and Home owners association fees.
Lord - you know I wouldn’t even have to bother you with any of these petty requests for healing if you had that new body ready. We want to know. Because our situation is dire. Even if it’s good - it isn’t great. 4/10. Do not recommend.
Is it now?
Are we there yet?
Jesus response:
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
And that is a frustrating place to be.
Because we want to know.
I don’t like to be in this place of unknowing.
It ins’t fun to not know the plan.
People get frustrated when they don’t know, they can’t prepare, they can’t think ahead.
We want to know.
And our desire to know is a dangerous place.
Because people will tell us.
And if they don’t know, they will make it up.
Because knowing - or saying that you know - is powerful.
This morning I want to share some truth with you - so that we can all understand what is really going on.
Tomorrow is a solar eclipse.
And it will be wonderful and beautiful. It is a testament to the wonderful things that God can do. It is a representation of who He is - mighty in power.
And because there is something wonderful happening in the sky, there are people who are making speculations about what this could mean for the world.
Specifically, this is a time where people make predictions about the things of God.
People have said things like “when the eclipse crosses over america it makes a cross and that means that Jesus is coming back”
Frodo and Sam walking to destroy the ring -
This looks straingly familiar. Its because we have been here before. We’re walking in circles.
We have heard all of these arguments.
And people are fooled.
Blood moons.
Eclipses.
Elections.
Some of the things people have said have come true, but most of them haven’t.
People will make claims.
Jesus is coming.
Someone said earlier this year, Its going to happen before march…
well, march is over.
The bible tells us over and over again to be aware of false teachers.
And yet we will fall prey to anyone with a platform.
You can buy platform these days.
This is especially true in the church - because many of these people have the qualities that we look for as part of the church.
Some of them are easy to spot. Joseph smith founded the mormon church with lies.
Some of them are more difficult.
We want what they say to be true.
Jesus coming back is such an incredible thing. I would beg him to come tomorrow if I thought it would make a difference.
Woman who prayed over eden and I when she was pregnant with Elaine.
We wanted those things to be true. They were good things.
We want miracles. We want healing. Sometimes it is - I believe in it!
Sometimes its fake.
Some of us aren’t ready to learn that some of the people that we listen to are false. We will defend them to our shame. We aren’t ready. and that’s okay, we are all growing.
The bible has so much to say about this.
20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’
9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not be present in the council of my people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.
14 But the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.
16 This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth.
26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
11 Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread?”
12 Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the leaven in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.
4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.
28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.
14 Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.
15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.
16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.
4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5 They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.
6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.
16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,
14 since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.
15 And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.
16 For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”
18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation,
21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.
7 As an overseer of God’s household, he must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a bully, not greedy for money,
8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled,
9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party.
11 It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.
12 One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
13 This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith
14 and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.
15 To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled.
16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
Beware false teachers.
Their tricks:
Vagueness.
The new testament response to False teachers
Conclusion:
Believe - Jesus is coming back soon.
Believe - there are signs and wonders of things that will happen before Jesus comes.
Be critical of those who claim to know - about this, or about other things.
Have a standard for those you trust to speak into your life.
Write down what they say.
Write down who said it.
And don’t get too wrapped up in it.
If it doesn’t come from the bible - there is a chance it is coming from man and not God. Be careful.