Day 27: Famous Last Words

G’day mate! Welcome to you! This post is part of a series I’m working my way through in the month of October, called Swim Your Own Race. If you’d like to start at the beginning (it is a very good place to start, after all) you can do so, right here. You can also find a link to all the posts in this series on Day One. I hope you enjoy diving in!

_______

This morning, I spent some time reading and thinking about the last words Jesus said to His disciples, after the Resurrection, and just before the Ascension took place. Each of the gospels has a different account of what was said in that key moment, but they are all similar in theme and purpose.

Now in this little space, we’ve been for the last twenty-six days or so considering what it means for us to swim our own race to the glory of God. A lot of what we have discussed has involved focus on ourselves, our feelings, our hopes and fears, our purpose and what the Lord might want to say about all of that.

But it wouldn’t be right, I don’t think, not to give some time and space to specifically considering what it means to be like Jesus, in the sense that Jesus was sent by the Father. He is our example, and based on His (famous) last words, He made it clear that He is now sending us, to be His people, doing His work in this world.

Each of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ final words brings an outwardly-focused theme to the table. In one way or another, each is saying Go, but just one of the gospels seems to also say wait. As in, first wait, then go.

During His final moment on the beach with the disciples, Jesus opened the Scriptures for the disciples to understand them. I take that this is not a literal action – He didn’t open a book for them to look at and get, He was busy opening their eyes, opening their hearts, helping them piece together all the things that had happened.

Afterwards He said,

“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” {Luke. 24:46-49}

Like the other gospels, Jesus specifically speaks about His people being a witness to what has happened and to Who He is. Like a witness in a courtroom, the calling is to see and observe, and then to testify truthfully about what the believer has seen and experienced. We’ll speak more about this later, but today, I want to focus on that last little part:

… but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.

Jesus is instructing His believers to go out into the nations, to tell people about Him. Why? Because, as a wonderful speaker who was visiting our church recently put it, He wants everyone to get to the Father’s house. It is not God’s will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. {2 Pet. 3:9}

But His expectation was never that we would go out in our own ability or in our own strength.

His intention was to send a Helper, the Holy Spirit. We spoke about this Helper on Day 10, in the discussion about keeping pace. But, although it is an incredible gift to us to receive the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit is not just for our benefit.

Over the next few days, we’ll talk more about Jesus’ famous last words, but for now, just let this sink in as much as possible:

Whatever God is calling you to do, He has a plan to give you what you need to make that possible. 

And He is calling all of us to testify to the Truth of Who He is and why that is Good News to a world in need.

But He also says wait — receive My power to do My work.

I constantly have conversations with Moms where the topic of homeschooling comes up. They ask how I like it, and I tell them that I love it, and I’m enjoying it so much. The immediate response, nine times out of ten, is “Oh I could never do it. I couldn’t homeschool my kids.” Sometimes they cite education as the reason, but most times they just don’t feel like they get along with their kids well enough for it to be possible.

I try to say something like If God leads you to do it, He will make it possible.

Here’s the thing. It’s probably good that we know that we’re small. It probably helps us not to get too prideful. But we often forget, or at least underestimate the power of the God that is at work within us.

You can homeschool your kids if the Lord leads you to do it. You can serve with excellence in a workplace that is full of people who are complaining, bitter, backbiting, and unwilling work hard. Even when you are surrounded by people who are not doing it, understand deeply that because of the Holy Spirit God placed inside of you, you can do it.

If we are Jesus’ disciples, we should be doing incredible things in the world for Him. And many of His disciples are. As I said yesterday, your life doesn’t have to sound like a Hollywood story to be an important story. We don’t have to believe that we’re awesome — what makes it amazing is that, we’re pretty ordinary, but an extraordinary God chooses to use us and to work through us.

As we swim our race to the glory of God, we receive His Holy Spirit and He can make anything possible.

Jesus didn’t choose well-educated Scribes or disciplined Pharisees to be His disciples — He chose fishermen, tax collectors, and basically a few ordinary people to turn the world upside down.

As you swim your race today, invite the Holy Spirit into your life, and ask for a greater measure of the Spirit of God. Know that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, further demonstrating just how incredibly awesome and glorious He is.

You can, because He is.

xCC