It’s getting to ‘crunch time’ in many sports. It’s just that time of year. In football or rugby it’s coming to the end of the season and clubs are fighting for cups or league titles, or to not get relegated. In Motorsport the new season is just getting underway, but early season performance lays the foundation for the rest of the year.
Whether any of this interests you at all or not, there is one theme in common with those sports I’ve mentioned: they require teams to be working together towards the same goal. There have been football teams and F1 teams which have underperformed because people within their teams and management are focussed on different goals.
Of course, God’s church is an entirely different thing – it would be foolish to compare it too closely to any sporting team. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord Almighty“ (Zech 4:6). But, after the crucifixion it is clear that the disciples were a discouraged (Lk 24:13-32), disbelieving (Jn 20:24-29), directionless (Jn 21:3) and fearful (Jn 20:19) people. The transformation over the next 40 days was remarkable. By Acts 1:12 they had direction, purpose and were a prepared people.
Jesus’ teaching over 40 days pointed them towards three things: The reality of His victory (Acts 1:3), the power of His Spirit (Acts 1:4-5), and the task of His Kingdom (Acts 1:6-8). The reality of His victory was to be their message; The power of His Spirit was to be their confidence; and The Task of His Kingdom was to be their purpose. And so, on seeing Jesus ascend to heaven, it’s no wonder that the Angels say to the disciples “Why do you stand there looking into the sky?“ – they had no reason to be longing for what was past or future, they had a task to complete right now!
And that focus is the same for us. We are a people who know the reality of His victory – “He is not here, He is risen!“, and we see His victory worked out in our lives as we live for Jesus. We are a people empowered by His Spirit, each day seeing Him work in incredible ways as we serve Him. And we are a people who hear the same call – that we will be His witnesses in all we do and wherever we go.
Its difficult to live that out sometimes. We live in a world of great opposition to the gospel of Jesus and to His people. We live as a counter-culture, a “city set on a hill“, “aliens and strangers in the world“. And so our zeal can waiver, our focus can drift onto other things. But God knows this. And He has given us great encouragement in His word as we face these challenges.
That’s why we’re looking through Acts and 1 Peter in the coming term – they are books written about God’s people who remain faithful through difficult times, despite great persecution and difficulty. They are written to encourage us: We too are weak people, but we too are loved people, empowered people, equipped people and fruitful people. We have the same God at work in us as we follow the same call and as we work for the same Kingdom. And they are written to focus our hearts and minds: to see clearly His Kingdom work and His Kingdom purposes that we have been called into.
What was the result of Jesus’ teaching and the work of His Spirit in them? We see it repeatedly stated in the opening chapters of Acts (Acts 1:12-13, 2:1, 2:44, 4:32): they were together, of one mind and heart. Their focus was on Jesus, His Kingdom and His work. It is our prayer that God would encourage our hearts in the coming months, sharpen our focus, empower our service and enlarge His Kingdom through us as we hear His voice in the coming term.