May 27, 2001: Seventh Sunday of Easter
Pastor J. T. Kim, Preaching

(Act 1:1-14)
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Good morning! I can see many people traveling for the Memorial Day weekend. Even though it’s hot, I guess it’s good to have a family picnic. Speaking of a family picnic, I have a humor for you:

A turtle family went on a picnic. They had prepared 7 years for their outing. The family left home, searching for a good place. During the second year of their journey, they finally found the perfect place. For about 6 months, they cleared the area and unpacked the picnic basket. And they were about to have a lunch. However, they discovered that they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without the salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to go back home and get the salt. Although he was the fastest of the slow-moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on only one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family promised and the little turtle left.

3 years passed - and the little turtle had not returned. 5 years…. 6 years… Then in the seventh year of his absence, the Papa turtle could no longer contain his hunger, saying, “I’m so hungry… Let’s just eat our lunch” “Yeah! Let’s eat!” all the rest of the family agreed. They began to unwrap their sandwiches.

At that point, the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “SEE! I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t wait! Now, I’m NOT going to get the salt!”

Aren’t you glad you live in the human time, not the turtle time? Everyone is given 24 hours a day, not 25 hours, not 23 hours. It’s up to all of us how we make those times most effective. Now these days, as we have advanced the technology, we are supposed to have easy lives and to enjoy relaxed times. But, despite all the good high-tech gadgets, we seem like we are much busier than ever before. We are living in fast lanes. Everything got to be fast.

Have you seen McDonald’s new commercial? If you don’t get your order within 30 seconds, you can a coupon for a BigMac. They promote their new image as “the fastest instant food restaurant.” Yes, everything is moving really fast.

Have you even heard the Intel Computer chips TV commercial music? Now they’re showing Intel Pentium 4. How does it go? “Ding-Ding-ding-DING!” Only 4 short notes in 3 seconds. Can you believe that with this “ding-ding-ding-ding” 3 seconds of music, the composer earned several million dollars? This composer’s name is Walter Warzoa, and the Intel asked him to compose a 3-second melody within 24 hours. And he came up with this song. Several Million dollars in 3 seconds. That’s not bad at all.

Time. Time is very significant in our life. I’d like to emphasize on three point about time this morning:

I. TIME IS IMPORTANT IN OUR LIFE
Greek mythology has a very interesting image of time. The image of time is like a man with long hair in front and bald in the back. The picture is of one you must catch coming toward you, because once it has passed, nothing is left to grab.

When a time is passed, you cannot reverse it. For some people and some occasions, the time seems too long or too short depending on situations. Apostle Paul strongly encourages us in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Yes, just as Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and season for every activity under heaven.” There is a time for everything. V. 2 continues, “a time to be born and a time to die…”

God is in charge of our time. God controls our lives. Last Thursday, when Carol Towt’s life support system was removed, everyone surprised that she was improving. Despite the severe brain damage, her whole body was being stabilized. It was a really great news until yesterday morning. I got a call from her son, saying that Carol passed away. Yes, it was God’s calling. I’m sure she is smiling with Jesus in heaven. She had a good life in God, and now it’s the time for her to go back to the Lord. Let me give you one more illustration about time:

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with 86,400.00. Wow! You like it? However, from day to day, it carries over no balance. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every penny every day, of course!

You know what? Each of us has such a bank. Its name is “TIME.” Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposit, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success. The clock is running. So you must make the most of today!

Someone wrote this on the topic of time:
- To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
- To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
- To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
- To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
- To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
- To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
- To realize the value of ONE MILLISEOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Yes! Time is precious and priceless. And time is limited on this earth. While there is a time to accomplish many things within given time on the earth, on the other hand, there is a time to wait.

Today is also Ascension Sunday. After Jesus’ resurrection, he stayed 40 more days, and ascended into heaven. So this morning’s text describes his ascension. Through this text, God is speaking to us that there is a time to wait in our busy life.

II. THERE IS A TIME TO WAIT
Vv. 4-5: 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
What did Jesus say? “… not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there…”

One of the most difficult things that we have to do as human beings is to have to WAIT for something. Think of a birth of a child. Have you ever wondered why God made gestation period for humans 9 months? Why not 2/3? Or just 1 month in this fast world? God made that way, and there must be some reason and value in waiting!

But waiting goes against our nature - we want to DO something! There is a time to DO and a time to WAIT. Ability to tell difference is a sign of maturity. Spiritually speaking, there are times when we have to wait. Some of the examples would be: When we desire wisdom - it takes time to learn and grow. When we experience hurt and loss -- it takes time to heal. Church that wants to grow - it takes time to develop.

Waiting is a crucial part of our life in Christ. Why did these disciples have to wait? In v. 4 & 5: "This," he [Jesus] said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Luke 24:49 also records what Jesus said as he was ascending into heaven: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

They needed power and direction. You and I may have to wait for same reasons. Here is the point of this sermon: There’s a right way and a wrong way to wait. The Right way is to receive power and direction. The Wrong way is to remain stagnant and powerless.

III. THERE IS A RIGHT WAY TO WAIT
The disciples model the right way to wait. The most remarkable thing about what these disciples did was what they didn’t do! They didn’t rush on a mission with no sense of being empowered. 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem… 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying… 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer…

The disciples obeyed what Jesus said. They returned to Jerusalem and gathered together and prayed. Put yourself in their shoes: Let’s say you had witnessed Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. You have seen him ascend to heaven as Lord of all creation. Then, by now, you’re overwhelmed by all these things. Then can you keep your mouth shut about that?! It’s hard to wait. But they did it out of their faithfulness and obedience.

They even obeyed his instructions with great joy: Luke 24:52b “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” They could have reacted to Jesus’ sudden departure with: anger, fear, frustration, disappointment. They kept asking him, in v. 6, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"

But what Jesus replied? V. 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Jesus told them to wait for the power and direction. It was his own agenda in his mind given by the Father.

My brothers and sisters in Christ!
Of course, there’s a time NOT to wait: in terms of your salvation, you should not wait but to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! Now is the time of salvation! Your time is running out!

But there is a time to wait! Before his public ministry, Jesus himself waited and fasted 40 days in the desert. When Lazarus was dead, he didn’t rush to heal him. Instead, he stayed 2 more days. Apostle Paul, right after his conversion experience, he did not immediately preached the gospel. He waited 3 years. He was trained. He was waiting for God’s time. That’s why we need to use our discernment.

Is there something in your life for which you have to wait? You can follow what the disciples did: Obey God’s clear directions in Scripture. Read the Bible! All the guidelines are in there. Choose to feel and express joy in your life. Maintain a strong commitment to the community of faith, especially the Church, the Body of Christ. Maintain a strong commitment to prayer and devotion. Then you would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. You cannot grow spiitually if you skip the process.

My brothers and sisters in Christ!
Waiting is hard, for it goes against our nature. But, remember Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Isaiah 30:18 also says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (amen)