Restoration!
The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
. . .
“whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
Acts 2:20,21, 3:,21 [Joel 2:31,32] added emphasis
Unlike. . . foundations, defective walls . . .require restoration
Prejudices are carried, through ignorance
. . .
They had missed it!
Oh, the stupid things we sometimes do. . .!
Christ did not, and does not, want our sophistication . . .
Why, a singular heart?
Hold it! . . . How did all of this come about?
What on earth were they doing . . . .?
As our cities age, more and more buildings find themselves having to be torn down, to start over again—even those of brick and mortar. In the city of Yonkers, New York, for example, it was recently found necessary to demolish an old brick building, in the very heart of town, when an outer wall developed a dangerous crack (witnesses could hear the agony of the structure, as it separated). In downtown, NYC (Manhattan), it is not at all uncommon to witness demolition in progress, as aging walls develop a structural weakness because of neighboring construction, especially when blasting new foundations on site, next door—as was recently the case with an adjacent apartment building, on Columbus Avenue. This also carries into my personal experience. For the explosive nature of my neighbors’ activities may actually force me to reconsider the soundness of my own commitments. In other words, not only does the situation carried on next door affect my own outlook and security—but that of surrounding neighbors (and the neighborhood) as well. Further, unlike the situation with defective foundations: defective walls most often require restoration—unless excessively cracking up. The structure in Yonkers had to be torn down. While the structure built on the rocky foundation (in Manhattan) merely had to have its walls reinforced. Our very lives are also like this. Like it or not, there is a domino affect for good, or evil, when the souls of our neighbors undergo a radical change. Even with a good foundation, a neighbor tampering with the environment (or, foundations) forces us to reexamine our manner of living. The live-in lovers next door force me to reconsider my commitment to marriage, for example. As do drug trafficers, who “quietly” enter the neighborhood. Churches are often quite welcome —yet in our day, even their purpose and pursuit is often called into question. NO change was ever more radical, with more potent ramifications, however, than the day God started building His original church—on the day of Pentecost.
How viable are our old structures (of the Church ) today? Are there cracks in our retaining walls? Or are we already standing in the gap? Now that we have seen ourselves in these mere “buildings,” we are ready to watch Peter, standing at the “beautiful” door of the old Jerusalem temple, then standing, holding forth the key to deliverance, for the hearts of mortal men and women. . . .
* * *
Here Peter stands, filled with the Holy Spirit, gushing forth the wonder of the new born (again) church, as it was freshly delivered from the womb of the upper room (Ps. 110:3). From there God’s power had come flooding into the streets, at Pentecost. And here, at ground zero, the Holy Spirit was still ready to “spill the beans” by exposing the heart of God for the destiny of all humankind, in an outflow of love that was still exploding from the Cross. A blind man had just been healed outside of the Beautiful gate (its name, literally) leading into the temple then standing. People had come running into Solomon’s court: all wondering what on earth had made such a thing possible—for the beloved Rabbi (whom they’d just “lost their heads,” crucifying) had perished on a cross, just a few short months, earlier.
Rumors were flying all over the place, concerning His resurrection. Religious leaders, anxious to maintain the status quo, were furiously tamping down fires that were springing up, as outburst after outburst outside of the upper room, exploded with a power that swept thousands into this new movement, with Holy Spirit “revelations.” For example, the earthquake they’d earlier experienced, at Christ’s crucifixion? It now appeared to be linked to Joel’s prophecy of the last days (Matt. 27:45-51, Joel 2:30)! The agony of the thought—consider it(!) —Of crucifying the very One they’d been looking for. Incredible love, incredible opportunity, and an amazing flow of grace now appeared from the heart of God, gushing towards a wayward and undeserving humanity.
"Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
"But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
Acts 3:17,18
Ignorant, or not, it still hurt.
Prejudices are carried, through ignorance. Divorces sometimes carry to conclusion, ditto. Malice, hatred, bitterness, character assassination—even wars are sometimes initiated, through ignorance. And there are consequences. Lives are ruined, homes devastated, countries are changed, forever. Grudges blossom in that infertile (poisoned) heart, and pass on, from generation to generation as it continues ruining entire neighborhoods, or nations. Consider Kosovo, for example, and Ireland. Consider Israel . . . and Iraq. Yet, here, these chosen people, who were the very people of God, looking for their Heaven sent Messiah . . . were being told that the one they had splattered on a Cross–was the very One for whom they had waited for millennia!
It was worst than telling a black man that he had just murdered Dr. King!
Or telling a patriot that he’d assassinated John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
This was the One they’d been waiting for, for over a thousand years!!
Balaam, the wayward prophet had seen Him, off in the distance:
"I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, . . .”
Numbers 24:17
Moses, speaking to a wayward people, had warned of His importance. For they had asked not to be brought so close, to the living God, saying:
'“You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and tell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.“
And the Lord agreed, answering:
“I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.”
And then:
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”
Deuteronomy 6:27-29
That was God’s real desire –for us to know Him, even if it meant walking among us, incognito, while being unappreciated as He revealed His heart. And here they were, with the very Christ among them, as they were simply mistaken. They had missed it!
He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"
Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.”
Luke 4:23,24
Here were these doctors of the Law, saying to the Doctor, “Heal Yourself!” I don’t know when it first dawned on me that even doctors can make mistakes. It seems so incongruous, impossible, and despicable: like a mother forgetting who her children are. Or a President entering the wrong war. We’re so accustomed to “mistakes” being minor things. Like the cartoons we saw as children, with cats chasing dogs, or the mouse out-witting the cat. Mistakes were the things of fantasy, not really serious. After all, who knew?
Who knew, when you bought a lemon, or purchased a home where next season’s flash flooding would take place? Who knew, when you chose the wrong career (“If I’d majored in business, instead of English, I’d be rich!!”) –or married the wrong(?) person? Can a man be held accountable for the turn of destiny? Can I control the future? Am I perfect?
Oh, the stupid things we sometimes do—like that woman, in drunken stupor, who ran over her fiancée, simply because she insisted she was sober enough to drive . . . even if he objected. Even if he hung on, for dear life, . . . even dying trying to help her.1
So, when these mavericks speak of forgiveness—not just any forgiveness, mind you, but by the One Who made the universe, and controls the Heavens. Forgiveness by One who measures and weighs the worth of one’s very living—and can then tell this one: “Well done, good servant.” And say to another,
“Depart, into outer Darkness.”
—A Darkness that matters, not because of the absence of physical light, mind you, but because we know, in our very souls, that “we knew” –Yes, we did know that although we couldn’t know all the twists and turns of life, that there really is One Who does. There is One who ultimately matters. And it really is all about Him, isn’t it?? Because, in the end, if He says its all right, we will be safe. Life will then have meaning and purpose.
But, these people who resisted the apostles were real fools. Sorry, but what else can we call them? We all fall into this category when we resist forgiveness by the One and Only God. Could you blame them? Of course, they had excuses: the others, within their little circle, of that far off century, and within their crumbling dwellings (which all crumble, with time. Their bones are now reduced to powdered lime) were irked and disturbed by the advent of this One coming out of Eternity to visit us.
How dare He??
Because, He is God.
Have you thought about it? Why didn’t Jesus hob-knob with their “important people”? Why not hold a conference, and “network,” with Gamaliel and the other doctors and lawyers, to give them the “inside scoop”? Why not?
Why not explain to Nicodemus Who He was, and His mission? It might have made it easier for them back track and to humble themselves—even if they had to do it like Peter, catching hold of himself after the Cross, in the cross hairs of destiny, assisting in the most despicable act of history (His story). Why not?
Why
tell Nicodemus, “You must be born again”?? WHY START OVER? Why give up all of that adult sophistication and learned sophistry that he’d spent so many years accumulating? Surely, that was not what Jesus really meant! Surely, . . . Jesus didn’t want this learned, and sophisticated, educated and highly regarded leader in Israel, to humble himself just like a little child, before the Creator of the Universe!But He did.
Christ did not (and does not) want our sophistication. He doesn’t need our compromising accommodations. Humbling Himself to be all things to all men (I Cor. 9:22) did not mean, for Christ, changing His intrinsic nature, or principle values, and focus of worship, for the sake of winning friends and influencing people.
He did not come to “fit in.”
He came to walk us back through God’s Door. To introduce us to the tree of Life. So that He could be our Way, Truth, and very reason for living: not an addendum. Nor a “likeness” of some human dream.
Now, here they were, in the flood of Heaven’s outpouring: in something other worldly, undoing the errors of the past: undoing the confusion at Babel, and all the confusion of tongues . . . and religion. Here He is, God with His own agenda, again. God, the Holy Spirit, confounding our learning and expectations with these simple, “unlearned,” common folk. Why, Saul (soon to be called “Paul”) wasn’t even invited to the party (yet)! God did it all, without him! Wouldn’t it have been nice to have Rabbi Saul preaching on such an important day—instead of that uncouth fisherman (Peter)?!
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they ... realized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
That’s how they saw it, in those golden days. Yet Peter never thought that part of that “restoration of all things” would include the very activity he was then standing in the middle of! As is often the case, when history is in the making, we seldom realize it. Especially in the good times, and within the exceptional moves of God, we tend to miss the significance of divine encounters—until afterwards.
And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
Luke 24:32
Notice that unusual grammar construct: “Did not our heart . . .?” Should this not be “our hearts ?? Why, a singular, “heart”?? Look again, at what happens to people in the presence of the living God. For,
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:1
Is this not what Paul says is the ideal condition of the Church? Having one heart, and one mind?
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Philippians 2:1,2
One mind (singular)! How, pray tell, did this miracle come about? —Through sensitivity training, perhaps? Or, special training at the feet of the local shrink, -er, witchdoctor –er, great teacher?? Forgive the mention of witches’ doctoring in the same breath with psychologists. Of course, we are taught that psychologists who deal with the psyche have nothing to do with the spiritual (officially)—and especially, with deliverance from (gasp) demons! Let us use more cogent, and cultured terms: counselors. Now, there’s a biblical term (Isaiah 1:26). Funny, how there’s not one reference to these fellows, after Christ came, or after the outpouring on that day (Pentecost). Could it be . . . could it? Could it be that we were expected to rise to a new level? For does not John say,
the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
I John 2:27
And Paul, reprimanding a backsliding assembly, rebukes them for squabbling (and even going to court) noting:
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
I Corinthians 6:2,3
But can it be? Can it? Can it possible be that this “anointing” of the Holy Spirit can so change one’s life and outlook—more, the outlook of an entire group of people, that their whole community is transformed, renewed, and set on fire with a holy zeal, so that their one “heart” burns with such pure love . . . that no psychologists (or counselors) are needed any more??
Hold it!
Wait! Back up a bit. How did all of this come about? What on earth were they doing prior to Pentecost, anyway? Yes, Jesus had told them, earlier, that the way the world would know we are His, is by our love for one another (Jn. 13:35). Yet, here, they had it! What was it, that Jesus told them to do, that had produced this incredible change?? It shouldn’t be so difficult to discover. After all, these things were written down for our learning. All we have to do is back up a few lines . . . Hm, m, m. Let’s see. There was a concern about the future, and the coming kingdom of God. Very important, that. Jesus had even commanded that we seek such things (Matt. 6:33). But, not today, fellas. Hm-m-m-m. Today, Jesus seems to be saying, we have some very serious business to attend to. We’re about to launch the Church’s golden age.For millennia, fellas: For over two thousand years this event will be the standard by which the church will be measured. Time to forget the theory, my friends. Time . . . to activate the plan. Forget the dogmas, forget the squabbling. Oh, sure, you can hammer all those doctrines out, in a few hours, or years . . . after you initiate this next command. Hm-m-m, let’s see: They were already assembled with Him, so theoretically, the unity and fellowship should have already been flowing—yet, He still commanded them:
not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;
"for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Acts 1:5,6
Had He not breathed on them, earlier, and commanded them to “receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22)? Why must they now wait? What is this business about assembling to wait upon God? Why, it almost sounds like a protracted prayer meeting!
Waiting on God! This is the main thing Saul failed to do, after the man of faith (his son, Jonathan) had started a battle with the Philistines—that he was unable to finish (I Samuel 13:1-14). Waiting upon God! It was what tripped up the young prophet, who correctly foretold the fate of the nation of Israel, when forecasting the coming revival through Josiah. He delivered the message, saw God move supernaturally, but was unable to exit graciously because . . . he failed to wait (I Kings 13).
Yet. waiting upon God was the one thing that Daniel, even behind enemy lines (in Babylon) was able to do. When all others were about to be mowed down, and destroyed, Daniel knew how to pray. More, he knew how to assemble friends, for a real prayer meeting.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. . . .
Daniel 2:17-19
When all others had “thrown in the towel” Daniel knew how to find the secret that would make the difference. He would not only interpret the dream, but discover the dream, as well. Yet, Daniel’s greatest secret was his ability to get God’s ear. Daniel knew how to really
Pray.
Restore all things?
Yes, Lord, teach us to pray, in earnest, once more.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
†
