Acts – Jesus Ascends To Heaven
As Jesus slowly rose off the ground and ascended into heaven, so did their gaze. Standing below, His followers were filled with a strange, new hope. This was not the end, they realized. Christ’s kingdom had only begun.
And they would be the builders.
Not long after His ascension, God sent His Holy Spirit to fill His people, just as Jesus had promised. Suddenly, the same men whose faith had wavered under simpler circumstances now surged with conviction and power as they preached even through persecution. Certain that Jesus was God’s only Son and the one hope for humanity, each of His followers devoted their life to proclaiming faith in Christ as the key to salvation.
Through Acts, God gives His people a clear and glorious glimpse into what He intends for the body of Christ. Far from the fruitless churches we have seen in our society today, the early church lived and breathed through the power of God’s Spirit and witnessed a dramatic growth in God’s kingdom as a result. They gathered together as one big family sharing everything they had with one another. Then, through prayer and fasting, they selected leaders to coordinate care for the local community as well as missionaries who would travel the world building God’s global church on the foundation of Jesus’ gospel message.
No one was left out of the call. God equipped each believer to carry out the Great Commission. Even persecution worked in their favor as believers dispersed throughout the nations, telling others about Jesus everywhere they went. To the believers, the matter was clear: they had life-giving power for a lost and dying world. And no power from darkness could stop the force of life God propelled through His people.
So where is that power today? God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, still works through His people. Sadly, many churches have resorted to programs over relationships, strategies instead of God’s Spirit. As we begin to re-center on Scripture and return to Christ, our One head, God’s body will begin to see corporately what God has continued to do individually through surrendered lives. For His kingdom will come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The RomansWho wrote the book of Acts? Read Acts 16:10.
What did Jesus send His apostles? Read Acts 2:1-4.
What does Peter tell us in Acts 2:38-39?
Have you received the Holy Spirit into your life?
Are you sharing Jesus with others?