By: Dale Weckbacher
Acts 1:8
But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”
(ESV)
As things shut down in our
communities begin to open up, we will begin to feel an emotional high as we
once again can go out and have a meal, go to Church, and maybe even eventually
attend a sporting event or concert in person.
However, as these venues open, there will be restrictions like social
distancing, masks, and even temperature checks requiring our patience to
provide assurance these venues operate safely.
For Christians, the concept of waiting is nothing new for we must wait
for the empowerment (Acts
1:4-5) of the Holy Spirit and God’s timing to minister effectively (Acts
1:6-7).
The Book of Acts begins with
Jesus promising the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Acts
1:1-5), and the account of The Ascension of Christ (Acts
1:6-11). This is not the first
mention by Jesus of the need for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the life
of a believer and His ascension to be with the Father, for Jesus also mentioned
them during his discourse with the Disciples at the Last Supper (John
16:4-15). The difference in this
discourse in the Book of Acts is,
1) The
disciples have experienced the sorrow of separation from Christ (Luke
23:48-49) – This will not be the first time the disciples have experienced
separation from Jesus for they have just experienced a brief separation from
Jesus between the crucifixion and resurrection.
The difference this time is the physical separation will be lengthy, continuing
to this day, requiring the help of the Holy Spirit who could not come to the
disciples, and us, unless Jesus ascended to the Father (John
16:7). During the coronavirus crisis
that separated believers from physical connection with each other, many of us were
sorrowful and even wished the Lord would return. However, that Lord did not return, but we
could find comfort in the counsel of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God (John
15:26; Nehemiah 9:20).
2) The
disciples have seen the risen Lord (Acts
1:3) – Jesus not only appeared to the eleven Apostles but also appeared to 500
during the forty days between His resurrection and ascension (1
Corinthians 15:6). The Apostle Paul
even mentioned that some of these 500 were still alive. Those listening to Jesus in Acts
1:1-9 now have a different perspective than when Jesus spoke to them at the
Last Supper (John
16:4-15), but still do not understand what will happen next, still
believing Jesus may march into the palace of their Roman occupiers and restore
the kingdom to Israel (Acts
1:6).
3) The
disciples are ready to hear their role after Jesus leaves to be with the Father
(Acts
1:8) – Having seen the risen Lord, the Apostles are almost ready to begin
their ministry but one thing is lacking, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in
their lives. While Jesus was with the
Apostles, they had the benefit of God with them in the person of Jesus but
after Jesus ascends to be with the Father, they will need God with them in the
person of the Holy Spirit before beginning their ministries (Acts
1:4,8). God knows the severe
persecution that lies ahead for those choosing to believe in the message of the
Gospel and does not want them venturing out lacking the power of God in their
ministry. When Jesus was physically with
them that power came from Jesus as God being with them (Matthew
1:23), but they now need another power source, the third person of the
Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
Acts
1:1-11 introduces the Book of Acts and lays out the desires of Jesus for
His Church. The Apostles still believe
Jesus might restore the kingdom to Israel after the resurrection but are now
ready to discover they will have an active role in spreading the message of
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (the Gospel) (Mark
16:15) as well as making disciples through sharing the teachings of Jesus
they heard during His ministry (Matthew
28:19-20). This is still the calling
of the Church today and now that churches are beginning to open again, this is a
great time to refocus on the mission of the church.
As part of spreading the Gospel
message, I want to extend an invitation to anyone reading this who has not accepted
Jesus as their personal savior. If that
is you, please pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
While publicly professing a
belief in Jesus saves us (Romans
10:9-10), it is just the beginning of a relationship with Christ. As with any relationship, once introduced we
must learn more about our new friend and spend time with them. All we need to know about God is contained in
the Bible but the writings in the Bible can be difficult to understand without
some guidance from both the Holy Spirit and spiritually mature believers who
have spent time studying the Bible. Therefore,
I encourage everyone who just prayed to begin reading and studying the Bible
and find a local church teaching the Bible.
We also must spend time with other believers in Christ, found at a local
church, since trouble will come in everyone’s life, including those believing
in Jesus, for support to get through any crisis (John
16:33). May God bless everyone
reading this post and please invite your friends and family to read this post
on Wednesdays as we study the Book of Acts and discover the role of the Church
in spreading the Good News of the Gospel.
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