Preparing for the Next Level
6. So when the Apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking Him, “Lord, has the time come for You to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7. He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.”
8. “But you will receive Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” “And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9. After saying this, He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him.
10. As they strained to see Him rising into Heaven, two men in white robes suddenly stood among them.
11. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “Why are you standing here staring into Heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into Heaven, but someday He will return from Heaven in the same way you saw Him go.”
Acts 1:6-11
The Basic Level
The video gaming industry uses technology that allows players of their devices and applications to advance to a different skill level. This technique not only keeps the person interested in the game, but also helps the player to discover a new level of thinking and development for that game. When it comes to next level living, it is unfortunate that Christians don’t share and don’t grasp the need to move to a new level of understanding God’s Will. Sadly, this absence of growth in the Kingdom leads to a lack of effectiveness. To put it plainly, basic level thinking and praying keeps the Child of God from growing. Basic level living leads to weak Churches. Weak Churches leads to Church conflicts because the folks are more worldly minded at that simple level.
This basic level living can be summarized as people who are only concerned about their own blessing and prosperity. Basic level believers are only concerned about getting their “praise on.” These believers love the simplicity of checking off spiritual boxes as if they have grown, but in actuality they are simply repeating the same old routines. “I prayed this week.” “I did a good deed.” “I behaved myself.” It is sad, how many who live at the basic level grow comfortable with being where they are and are not challenged to become all that they can be in Christ. There is nothing morally wrong with basic level living, but one can never become a champion in faith by simply living comfortably and practicing mundane spiritual routines. While it is not “wrong,” it also means they will not reach the level of being filled with the Holy Spirit. To put it plainly, God is not pleased with His children living at the basic level.
After Jesus’ Resurrection, the Apostles had formulated in their minds what Jesus would proceed to do in the continuation of His earthly ministry. They did not realize that God was moving them forward in the work of advancing His Kingdom. They didn’t have a clue that the plan was to send the Gospel message to the ends of the earth. Their small minds had not grasped the fact that beginning in Jerusalem, they would start a movement that would radically change lives on a global scale. What is truly amazing about this is that they were considered illiterate and mediocre by the standards of the world. Yet God was about to use them in a powerful way. They were just a few days away from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would propel them to God’s next level.
Barriers to Moving to the Next Level
There are three barriers or handicaps (if you want to call it that) standing in the way of moving to a new spiritual level. These barriers are tough to deal with because they are the result of self-reflection. One of the barriers is simply where the believer refuses to grow. This barrier is the called the state of satisfaction. It occurs when a believer becomes satisfied at a plateau in their faith and their efforts are devoted to simply maintaining the current position. The second barrier is called the state of speculation where the believer assumes they know what God is going to do or they are presuming what God should be doing. The speculations are based on the believer’s desire to see things change economically, socially, or politically. The speculators still believe in God, but they are close to the line of being skeptical because they assume that “If God is good – then He should immediately do something about all this evil in the world.” The obvious problem with speculators is that they want God to see it their way. Then there is the third state of safety. The safety first Christian takes the pessimistic view of living in a dangerous world. Their goal of living for God is simply that God would keep them safe from all harm. No thought is given to go out and share because that would be too risky and may pose some type of threat. The Apostles had lived in that state when they were fearful that the same Jewish leaders would come and put them to death as they had done to Jesus. John 20:19 states that after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week, the Disciples met together secretly for fear of the Jews. They still believed. They still tried to encourage one another, but their concern was safety not evangelism.
Jesus had spent forty days with the Disciples after His Resurrection. During the post-Resurrection ministry of our Lord, He was preparing them to move forward in their faith and their work as Apostles. He had said to them, “As My Father has sent Me into the world, I am also sending you.” John 17:18. Rather than paying attention to their future tasks, their minds had drifted into thinking about the future state of Israel. They were speculating that as the Messiah, Jesus would do something about the current state of Israel and the Roman occupation. This was their assumption. So rather than listening to Jesus, they began to interrogate Jesus as to what should be happening next on the Divine Agenda. So when the Apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking Him, “Lord, has the time come for You to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” Jesus had gotten them past the state of safety and had even addressed the state of satisfaction, but they were still struggling with what was going to happen next.
Notice how the text in the New Living Translation states “they kept asking.” It seems they obviously had not grasped the Lord’s Message the first time. It is interesting how speculators are always concerned about business that does not belong to them. It is quite common for speculators to also become self-appointed judges and will make their rulings on how other folk ought to be living their life. But “for Real Christians” realize that the struggle is real and that they need to first get their own house in order rather than attempt to straighten out someone else’s house. There is no need to speculate about others when there is plenty of need to pray, confess, and conduct self- examinations in my own life. People who are truly interested in living right for God will look at their own life and then try to reach out in compassion to help others. In any event, Jesus did not allow the Apostles to proceed into business that did not belong to them. He told them plainly, “that is the Father’s business – not yours.” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” We might quickly conclude that Jesus got them straight, but what about us? Aren’t we doing some of the same things by not allowing God to move us forward? Are we preoccupied with safety, or comfort, or even speculating about the future? If we would admit it, we have failed to move to the next level because of these same barriers.
Getting to the Next Level
The only solution to overcoming the challenges of getting to the next level is to accept what Jesus says. First, this means you must accept the mission change. For the Apostles, their mission was not to conduct the Father’s business. Their mission was to follow Jesus and free their minds from trying to peep into the future. The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” If you are some how thinking that you are on this earth to make history, or make a name for yourself, or somehow become great – you are missing your mission. Let me address an epidemic that is occurring among many churches and it is called the “mega-Church mentality.” Rather than Churches focusing on simply reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many are hung up on Sunday morning attendance records or enrollment. This is missing the mission. Let God take care of the numbers and you attend to the mission of simply sharing what God has given you. In this case the numbers they are not for you to know.” Remember how King David got side tracked over numbering the people of Israel and it ended up costing innocent lives? Just do what God has assigned you to do. Accepting the mission change means shifting from self-focus to God focused ministry. That means we’re totally depended on God to make it happen.
If the Church is to move to the next level, it must also acknowledge the ministry challenge. Jesus proceeded to issue a challenge to Apostles. “But you will receive Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” In other words, they were powerless and did not know it. The same is true for us. We are powerless to do anything unless God moves in our lives to accomplish His Holy purpose. Rather than pretending we have the power by going through religious rituals, the challenge is to acknowledge the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this new walk with Christ. Somewhere in the back of their minds, the Apostles were thinking that if Jesus restored Israel’s Kingdom, they were going to have some powerful positions with benefits. Jesus shut that down by declaring that they had no power without the Holy Spirit. This also addresses the issue with some “Evangelicals” who feel that political affiliation is God’s Will. I must remind you that Jesus is not running for office anywhere because He already owns everything and He is Lord of everywhere. Jesus is neither Democrat nor Republican nor Independent. He is Lord!! So, acknowledge the ministry challenge and receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance and power to do God’s Will.
Finally, moving to the next level will mean adapting to the ministry calling. So, what are we supposed to be doing at this new level? Jesus made it plain. “And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Just tell. God will equip you with the Word to tell others about His Grace and Love. Don’t worry about the future just live for the One who owns the future and you. You are a witness for the Lord. At this new level, you will learn that by allowing God to take charge of your life, nothing is impossible. At this new level you will learn to love God more and serve Him better. At this new level you will come to the full understanding that if God is for you – no weapon formed against you will prosper. At this level of living you and I will share the Greatest Gift that has ever been given to meet the greatest need that has ever existed and that we will be equipped with the Greatest Power to accomplish that mission. The Holy Spirit will be with you.