Pastoral Letter 214
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
As we are close to Ascension Day, which is next Thursday, tomorrow we will celebrate Ascension and give thanks to God for raising His Son and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from the dead. After His resurrection, He spent forty days appearing to His disciples, encouraging and preparing them for the next phase of their ministry. Jesus, after saying His final words and giving the Great Commission, He ascended to Heaven with clouds and promised to be with them until the end of time when He will come back in glory. Still the disciples needed a further boost to carry on the heavy task that Jesus gave them. As promised, the Holy Spirit came down with wind and tongues of wire to give them the power they needed to do their part. As we celebrate Ascension Day and Pentecost in a fortnight (which we will with our neighbouring St. Aidan’s Anglican Church on Sunday 19 May at 9:00 am at St. Aidan’s), let us be aware that these two celebrations remind us about our task and responsibility, as the people of God and the members of the body of Jesus Christ, to be His witnesses until He comes back.
Tomorrow, after Morning Tea at 12 noon, we will have our traditional Mother’s Day fellowship meal, when we will express our love and appreciation to all the mothers and pray to God to keep and bless them.
I will be on leave for two weeks. On Wednesday evening, Dee and I will fly to US to attend Lori’s graduation ceremony from New York University in New York and also meet some family and friends in LA and New Jersey. Please keep us in your prayers to have a safe trip.
Next Sunday, Alex Pittaway from Neutral Bay Uniting Church will take the service in my absence. Thanks Alex. And on the following Sunday 19 May we will join St. Aidan’s Anglican Church for Pentecost Sunday.
Please join us tomorrow to worship with us and celebrate Ascension Day. But if you are not able to join, please light a candle, have a small roll of bread and a small cup of wine and join us from home following the attached Order of Service.
Please continue to pray for those who are going through difficult and tough times, seeking God’s presence, help and healing.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for peace, harmony and good to prevail in Australia and the whole world.
- Pray for the Middle East, and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
- Pray for the people Artsakh who are refugees in different parts of Armenia facing many challenges.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for the people impacted by natural disasters around the world and Australia.
- Continue to pray for Virginia, Frank and the family as they navigate through tough times.
- Pray for Dee and me as we travel to US and to return back safely.
Best Regards
In Christ
Krikor
MESSAGE
ASCENSION DAY
He Will Come Back!
Acts 1:1-14
The doctrine of Christ’s return is fundamental, scriptural, and controversial.
It is fundamental in that all true Christians believe that one day Jesus Himself will return to the earth.
It is scriptural in that our faith rests not in our dreams but in the clear revelation of God’s Word.
It is controversial in that Christians have often differed among themselves regarding the details of Christ’s return.
As we look to the passage written about the Ascension, I just want to ask one question:
What will the Second Coming of Christ be like?
Let’s consider three answers to that question.
His coming will be:
1. Personal
Verse 11 makes it clear that Jesus Himself will one day return to the earth. It will be “this same Jesus” who is coming again. Twice in one verse Luke uses the word “same” to make it clear of His Second Coming. The same Jesus who left will one day return. And He will return the same way that He left.
In plain English, those words teach us that Jesus is coming back personally, literally, visibly and bodily. We can assume that His return to the earth will be no less amazing and no less surprising. As it was promised He will surely come back and establish His eternal Kingdom.
The truth is that the actual, historical figure who lived 2000 years ago is returning to the earth one more time.
Many have predicted the return of Christ by setting dates which did not come true.
I just want to give one comment. These predictions were misguided—but were right about one thing. God in the person of Christ is coming back someday.
“I will come back,” Jesus said (John 14:3). One day those words will be fulfilled.
2. Glorious
Acts 1 tells us that Jesus was caught up in a cloud and taken to heaven. The cloud that carried Jesus into heaven was no ordinary cloud but was in fact the same cloud that led Israel in the wilderness. It is the cloud that represents the glory of God. Luke 21:27 tells us that Jesus will return “in a cloud with power and great glory.”
There are differences surrounding Jesus first coming to His second coming.
The first time Jesus came unnoticed into the world, the second time “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7).
In His first coming Jesus humbled Himself, being born in a stable in Bethlehem. When He returns, He will come back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The first time He came He was judged and sentenced by the people according to their wrong standards, but when He comes, He will judge every person according to God’s standards. He is the Lamb who was sacrificed for us and is our Saviour, but He is also the righteous Judge and hence He will judge righteously, separating the sheep from the goats.
Christian writer and commentator Warren Wiersbe, talks about a town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before had saved his life; so, he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea: “Young man, then I was your saviour; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.” One day Jesus Christ will say to rebellious sinners: “During that long day of grace, I was the Saviour, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your Judge.”
When Jesus first came into the earth the religious leaders shouted in scorn Him saying: “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:42). The day is coming when the whole world will see Jesus who He really is. When that happens, every knee will bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus will one day return “in power and great glory.”
3. Pending
The Bible also tells us that the coming of Christ is pending, which means that it could happen at any moment. Again and again, the New Testament urges us to “watch” and be ready for His return (Matthew 24:42). We come across this sword so often when we do our online banking or apply an application and we wait, hoping that our transaction goes through, or our application is approved.
Paul teaches that Christians must expect at any moment that Jesus will return to the earth.
The story is told of a businessman who, having a duty to run at his office, took his young son along with him. He asked the boy to wait on the steps while he went inside to do his work. Soon he became so occupied with his business that he forgot about his son waiting outside. Leaving the building by a different door, he went home alone. Several hours later the family sat down to dinner, but the son was not present. His mother became anxious and wondered where he might be. Then the father remembered where he left his son. Hurrying back to his place of work, he found his son, tired and hungry, waiting as he had been instructed to do. “I knew that you would come, father,” he said, “you said you would.”
It’s been 2000 years and some of God’s children feel tired and hungry. We wonder why Jesus hasn’t come back yet. Perhaps He has forgotten us. Perhaps He made other plans. If you feel like that little boy, take heart. He said He would come back—and He will. All true Christians believe that Jesus will come back someday. He said He would—and He never forgets His promises.
The word pending or imminent does not mean immediate. Paul was not mistaken for that. He expected to see Christ return in his lifetime and said so. When we use the word imminent for the Second Coming, it means two things:
- Waiting and Watching
- Hoping that it will happen
“Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will comeback” (Mark 13:35).
This should warn us against the danger of setting dates and reading too much into the “signs” of the end times. Jesus wants us to see that knowing the exact date is not important but being ready is!
While we work and while we pray, let us always remember our “Blessed Hope”, the return of Jesus to the earth.
Let’s be ready for His coming!
Because He is coming for sure. He will be back!
Amen!