Bobby Bosler: Welcome to the Thee Generation Podcast. I’m Bobby Bosler and I’m speaking to you today from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. As I’m sure you all are aware, the COVID-19 trial continues to drag on longer and longer and longer.

And if we’re all honest, we’re kind of sick of it at this point, aren’t we? Last time I spoke to you on the podcast, I talked about the fact that it was time to get back to business. God has a job for us to do, and we need to get our eyes not on all of the reasons why we should wait.

We need to get our eyes on Jesus. Listen to him and obey him and accomplish his business. Our meat, our food, our sufficiency is to do the will of our Father.

That being said, I was just in a prayer meeting just a few minutes ago, and God was stirring my heart with a thought, and I wanted to get here and record this here while it was still fresh on my heart. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus had been resurrected. And, of course, you know he died on the cross.

We find that recorded at the end of each of the four Gospels. And then, of course, three days later, he rose from the dead. And as much as the moment of his death was probably one of the most traumatizing thing any of the disciples had ever been through, his resurrection and when they realized that he had raised from the dead was likewise probably one of the most encouraging moments in their entire lives.

And so I think it’d be understandable to think that they were imagining that since Jesus had risen from the dead, it was about to change everything. And young people, I want you to know that it did change everything. There is everything.

I’ve heard it said that when Jesus shed his blood on the cross and died, he penned the check for our eternal life. But when he rose from the dead, the check cleared. And those are encouraging things.

And the resurrection of Jesus Christ vindicated Christ’s own testimony. It validated the word of God. It was the victory foreshadowed for every single one of us over sin, death, and hell.

And so as we look at the post-resurrection period of time, for several weeks, the disciples actually spent time with Jesus. They talked to Jesus, and Jesus talked and taught them. In fact, in Acts chapter 1, verse 4, it says, And being assembled together with them, Jesus, that is, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but, and then the quotation begins, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me.

For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. And he says, listen, disciples, something very special is going to happen coming up here very soon, And I want you to make sure you are there in Jerusalem positioned for that strategic moment. So then in verse 6, and this is kind of where I want to park here and I want to think about this here.

They’re not exactly sure what he’s talking about. Something’s going to happen. God is up to something.

Jesus is up to something. And they are going wild in their own minds wondering what exactly it is that Jesus said is about to come to pass. He said something about the Holy Ghost and whatever that means, we don’t know.

But in verse 6 it says, When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Now that question may not necessarily mean anything to you or me in the 21st century. But to the Jew living at that time, that was the hope of Israel.

You see, the Jews, from the time that they had returned to their land after the Babylonian captivity, they had lived in pretty much constant chaos. One group of people after another ruling over them. They were greatly mistreated and abused as a people.

They were constantly oppressed. They were considered the off-scouring of the earth. People hated their guts.

And to be honest, young people, we still see that here today when it comes to the Jewish people. But there came a point in time when the Roman Empire took over. And even though Israel had their land and they had a temple, they still had the boots of Rome on their neck.

And they were constantly aware of that. And Israel believed that this was not the way God intended for it to be forever. They believed that God was going to send a deliverer to them and that this trial that seemed to be wearing thin, that people were ready to throw off and be done with.

And here’s Jesus who rose from the dead and promised something’s going to happen coming up here not many days hence. And they’re thinking, oh, maybe they look at each other with that glint in their eye and they say, I think I know what’s going to happen. Jesus is going to bust up Rome.

oh, this is going to be good. He rose from the dead and he is going to take them to the cleaners. There’s a sense in which they thought their trial was almost over.

And, you know, as much as they did not understand what was coming, they didn’t understand fully the program of God. Their question was understandable. Again, they had been in a trial and Jesus was their deliverer, wasn’t he?

And they thought he was going to deliver them from the thing that was at the forefront of their minds, from the thing that made the headlines, from the thing that affected their lives day in and day out, the thing they wanted to be done with, they thought Jesus had come to rescue them from. And they said, hey, is it time for that thing to be removed? And in verse 7 and 8, I find Jesus’ answer very encouraging.

It says, and he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. In other words, I know what you’re asking, and I’m not going to tell you when this is going to be done. I’m not going to tell you how things are going to go.

I’m not going to tell you whether Rome will get trounced, whether Rome will fall, whether you will be free, or whether you’ll never be free again. It’s none of your business. But in verse 8, he tells them what their business actually is.

But that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and under the uttermost part of the earth. He said, essentially, listen, don’t worry about when the trial is going to be done. Don’t worry about when things get back to normal, so to speak, as a people.

What you need to worry about, what you need to focus on, what you need to concentrate on, is accomplishing the mission that I have you here on this planet to do. Your job is first receive the power that I’m going to send to you. And then second, your job is to be a witness, to preach the gospel, to share the good news of Jesus Christ all over this planet.

And what I was stirred about in this prayer meeting is as much as it’s so easy for us in this coronavirus crisis to wish that it was over. What we need to do is not worry about when it’s going to be over, not long for the day when this is all going to be passed and we can get back to our mediocre Christian life, but we need to be longing to win souls to Jesus Christ.

I know it sounds like I’m a broken record on this podcast, but I just can’t get away from this. Listen, young people, when I look at the news and when I see the headlines, all I want is for this stupid thing to be done. But when I get on my knees in corporate prayer with other believers, you know what happens?

God kicks me in the backside and says, get out there, Bobby, and preach the gospel. So consider your backside kicked just a little bit here on this podcast. You know, as much as we want the trial to be over, just like the disciples wanted the Roman occupation to be over, Jesus wants us to be about our Father’s business.

He wants us to focus on our mission to reach the world with the gospel. So that means we need to surrender this trial to Jesus. We need to put it in his power and give it over to him and say, Jesus, it’s up to you.

You take it for however long you need to take it. You let this thing go on as long as you see fit, God. But we will collaborate with your program.

We will surrender to your cause. We will depend on your power and we will go and preach your message. That ought to be the burden of every one of us.

Listen, is it time for God to come and deliver our nation from the coronavirus? Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. That isn’t our concern.

Our concern, young people, is to surrender to Jesus completely and totally and to depend upon his power. You guessed it. To turn the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s go do it, shall we?