4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
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."
Even after all Jesus had done the disciples expected Him to set up an earthly kingdom, we think "how dense are these guys?" yet I find myself thinking and asking God, "you're doing to do this now, right God?"
Jesus focus for them and for me, is to receive the power of the Holy Spirit... and to be a witness in my town, my country and the world.
Acts 1
ReplyDeleteIntroduction
1-2 In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning of his life until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
3 After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about the kingdom of God.
6 So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7-8 Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9-11 After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him. They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
A New Apostle Takes Judas’ Place
20-21 You’ve read in Psalms, ‘Let his home be deserted, and let no one live there,’ and ‘Let someone else take his position.’” “Therefore, someone must be added to our number to serve with us as a witness that Jesus came back to life. He must be one of the men who accompanied Jesus with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus was among us.
24-26 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.” They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles.