“Sanction”

Acts 1:6-11

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

FIBA ASIA 2013

The 2013 International Basketball Federation ASIA, better know as FIBA ASIA 2013 an intercontinental qualifying championship for men basketball.
The champion, the 1st and the 2nd Runner Ups would qualify for next year’s 2014 FIBA World Cup to be held in Spain.
Iran Basketball Team wins the gold medal, the Philippine Basketball Team gets the silver medal and South Korea Basketball Team takes the bronze medal.
Iran, Philippines and South Korea qualified for the FIBA World Cup 2014.

FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 213 national federations of basketball throughout the world.
The International Olympic Committee recognized FIBA as the sole competent authority in basketball.

FIBA has the authority to sanction or to give authoritative permissions or approvals to hold an intercontinental qualifying tournament in basketball like the FIBA ASIA 2013.
In our life, there are also things that we are allowed or not allowed to do or to know
God allows or sanctions things and situations that we need to know or keep secret to us.
There are secret things that are not sanctioned by God to be known but to be mysterious.

1. Mysterious

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
The disciples were eager to know when the Lord would restore the kingdom of Israel. They believed that Christ Jesus will eventually reign as king of Israel soon. They might have been experiencing terrible persecutions under of the Roman Empire. For more than 600 years, the Israelites have no sovereign government of their own. They have been subjected under different invading nations.

The Lord Jesus came and they hope that they will experience deliverance through Him. They wanted to know if Christ will soon restore the kingdom of Israel but Jesus answered: 7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
God does want anybody to know the time and date when Jesus would reign as king on earth. As to why God forbid us to know the coming of Christ again, [it] remains mysterious. There are many things that believers do not necessarily need to know for now. God knows that there are undesirable consequences if we know all about His plans.

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act took effect on July 1, 1983. This Act imposes obligations on some 250 federal government departments and agencies in Canada to respect privacy rights by limiting the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The Privacy Act also gives individuals the right to access and request correction of personal information about themselves held by these federal government organizations.

It is not good and not beneficial to have all your information be revealed in public, right. That may not be the nearest illustration but there mysterious things that God has not intended to be revealed but to keep them remain secret for our own benefit. In Deuteronomy 29:29 it says…Many of the secret things that God keep us wondering for a while are not helpful for now and will never be understood or conceptualized by our limited mind.
Several mysterious things are kept secret for the time being until it is the time to be revealed. God knows which things that are beneficial that could help us become grow spiritually. The instructions that God wants us to follow are designed for our own spiritual growth.

The best way to know God is to follow His instructions, His mandate for us.

2. Mandate

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

One of the most important mandates of our Lord is to be witnesses for Him. Receiving power from the Holy Spirit that is, the “Go” signal, Christ has given before believers to go and witness about Him. The success in witnessing depends upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are mandated to go and witness but wait for the power of the Spirit. Witnessing is the resultant privilege of those who receive the power of the Holy Spirit.A true believer has the desire in witnessing upon receiving the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul McCartney Concert

Did you watch Paul McCartney’s concert last Monday? People are willing to pay big bucks to see him in person singing and playing his guitar.
Those who received ticket went and watch and they might have enjoyed his concert.

True believers receive power when the Holy Spirit comes into the person’s life as privilege. There is joy being experienced deeper than watching concert when we go witnessing. Once the believer receives the Holy Spirit, witnessing is the more remarkable indication that he has received power for God. Witnessing is a manifestation that a believer is baptized with the Spirit. That is also an indication when the believer submitted to the Lordship of Christ.

Witnessing, being baptized in the Spirit and submission to Christ’s Lordship are inseparable experiences of a true believer.

There are those who think and say, “Oh, I need to witness because I am also a Christian.” Many Christians would join Evangelism Trainings because of a misguided motivation. Yet after graduating from Evangelism Training they do not practice what they learn why? Of course, the Lord Jesus did not say, “Be trained in evangelism and go witness!” Witnessing is a resultant effect of receiving the power when the Holy Spirit comes to us. That power received made into effect by giving us the motivation and desire to be trained.

If you are not into witnessing now, do not be insulted, do not feel guilty instead accept the truth that you have not received the power of the Holy Spirit yet. So, instead of feeling insulted or feeling guilty, pray and ask the God to help you receive or know if you have truly received the Holy Spirit. Don’t just assume that you are a Christian but find a proof that you really are a believer.

The Holy Spirit is the seal that you have certainly received eternal life. Witnessing is the remarkable evidence that you received the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Are you sure you were sincere when you may have prayed to receive Christ as your Lord? It might be that you have deceived yourself and you think you have believed but you have not.

Seek God, ask Him to make it sure that you have truly received the Holy Spirit in your life. The Lord Jesus gave the mandate to witness to the disciples and not to just mere followers. Christ did not tell them to go immediately but wait for the power of the Holy Spirit.

When the desire of witnessing is felt in your life, the power of the Spirit is at work. Witnessing is a privilege where God’s power is experienced more personally. Experiencing God’s power at work in our life brings more benefits to our spiritual growth than wanting to know about the time and date of the coming of Christ.

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
We are not to worry about the second coming of Christ because just as the disciples saw Him taken into heaven, we surely see the Lord in the same manner when He comes back. True disciples do not need to be informed of Christ’s coming because each believer dead or alive at that time will be instantly changed from perishable to imperishable.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Paul encourages us…
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The media or the internet is not silent about those who are claiming to be the new Christ. Many are misled by impersonators because they have no idea of what the Bible teaches. But if the Holy Spirit is active in one’s life, He will help the believer know which is which.

The desire to know more about the Bible is another manifestation of the Spirit at work. God reveals more of Himself to those who desire to know more about Him. The more we grow closer in his relationship with God, the more we want to know Him. The more eagerness in wanting to know God the more God reveals Himself.

Obedience to the mandate of Christ, like witnessing, proves an active spiritual growth. Keep praying that each of us will experience more of God’s power in our life. We do not need to spend time searching for mysterious things that God keep secret. We need the help of our Lord to have growing desire to be involved in witnessing. Amen!?

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