FBC Daily Devotional – November 5, 2021

Well, a good Friday morning to you, wrapping up the first week of November, looking forward to the weekend. And what a good weekend this is going to be as we are able on the Lord's Day to get together with God's people and worship the Lord together.

The church, we're looking forward to a good day, planning on focusing in the Sunday morning service again in the book of Judges. We've been looking at the life of Samson and working our way through that.

You know, the book of Judges, the longest section in the whole book is dedicated to this one man, Samson. And if you think of all the different judges in that book, Samson is like, he's got to be the worst, don't you think?

Seems to me anyway. But anyway, so we're in the book of Judges. I think this Sunday we'll be wrapping up the life of Samson. So if you can come at 1030 Sunday morning, I hope you will. If you can't make it in person, then catch us on live stream, you know, on Facebook, YouTube, church website, different ways of watching the service online.

Trusting God's Timing in Acts 1

But we do appreciate in-person worship together. There's nothing that can compare with that. Well, anyway, so today we're in a new book, in our scripture reading, in the New Testament, the book of Acts, Acts chapter 1.

And one of the things that strikes me in this opening of the book, the Acts of the Apostles, is how like the Apostles we can be. So here they are. They're with Jesus. He has assembled together with them.

We read in verse 4, and he tells them to wait there in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father comes. And that's, of course, a reference to the filling of the Spirit, the coming of the Spirit upon them in power, to use them, as he will, in Acts chapter 2.

And then in verse 6, you see how the disciples redirect the questioning. So Jesus tells them, wait here. The Holy Spirit is coming. He's going to come upon you, and so forth. And then the disciples redirect the focus of attention, and they ask this question, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?

Is this going to be the time of the end when there's the the kingdom of Israel is restored, and all that we've been looking forward to will finally be realized? Isn't that just like us? We're living in a time right now in our nation when there's an awful lot of upheaval.

Things are more difficult for the average American today than they have been in quite a while. Not too long ago, I filled up the gas tank, and I came home and commented to my wife, I have never spent so much money to fill up my tank with gas.

And we're seeing those kinds of problems on a very practical level in our pocketbook, but we're also experiencing also experiencing a great deal of moral and ethical quandaries and challenges to our faith, to our way of thinking, and so on.

And I'm not going to go into all that. You know it. You feel it. You sense it. And that's created a certain degree of interest and enthusiasm for God's people to wonder, you know, is the time of the end coming?

Is Jesus coming again? Is he coming now? Is this the last days that he was talking about?

Well,.

To be accurate, the last days began when Jesus ascended, and we're living in the last days. And the church has been living in the last days, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, we can become so preoccupied with that concern about, is this the end?

Is this when Jesus is coming again? Are these the signs of the times? And so forth. In other words, focused on the future events that the Bible talks about. Well, rather than be consumed with that, I think what we need instead to do is to rest in knowing that our Lord has all of these things in the palm of his hands, and he has a fixed time for his coming, for his return.

We're not to live in a state of anxiety and expectation that, you know, the kind of expectation that goes up on the roof in a white sheet, you know, expecting, you know, thinking Jesus is gonna come tonight, kind of a thing.

That's not the way we're to live. We are to live as believers with the expectation that any day Jesus can return. That's just the way it's always supposed to be for the believer. We're not to be consumed with the details of the when and even the how, but the point is, that I want to get here, is what Jesus says in reply.

He says to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. Two things I want to point out there. One of them is the Father has put things in his authority.

He has things set. He has time set in his authority, and we can trust him in that. We can trust him. The other thing is, it's not for me to know when that is. I don't need to be concerned about that. Because here's the thing, the more that I am so concerned about those details that God hasn't given, hasn't revealed, the more I'm taken off track of what I'm supposed to do.

So Jesus even brings this out. He says, it's not for you to know these things, the time and the seasons which the Father has put in his authority. He says instead in verse 8, You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me.

This is what's going to happen. You're going to be my witnesses. You're going to witness in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. So you just focus on what I'm giving you to do, to go be my witnesses.

And the timing of the restoration of all things, leave it to God. Leave it to the Lord. The Father has it established in his own time, and it will come to pass when he's ready for it to come to pass. So let's rest in that.

Whatever happens in this world, let's rest in the fact that God has it under his sovereign control, and secondly, let's stay focused on what God has given us to do. Let's let the church be the church.

The people of God be the people of God, whatever that may involve in the world in which we live in this particular time. So Father, I pray help us with that. Help us to keep our focus where it ought to be, and I pray that we wouldn't get distracted and filled with anxiety and overly concerned about things that you haven't given us to be concerned about.

Instead, Father, help us to be faithful, doing what you've given us to do, helping the church to be the church, the people of God to be the people of God in this day, and we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right. Well, have a good rest of your Friday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and on the Lord's Day, join together with God's people in worshiping and learning of our God, we pray. All right.

Have a good day.