But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
I hate goodbyes. I have always lived with my heart on my sleeve, and saying goodbye brings tears to my eyes every time. It makes me long for the day when goodbyes will no longer be necessary because we will be in Heaven with Jesus forever. Knowing how I feel saying goodbye to the people I love and care about, I cannot help but think of Jesus’ last few moments with His disciples on earth with tenderness and a few tears. The story is recorded in Acts 1.
As Jesus spent some of his last moments with His disciples in Acts 1, He told them a little bit about what was going to happen soon. Here is what He said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth” (verse 8). Suddenly, after He said these things, Jesus was “taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him” (verse 9). Those were the last words Jesus’ followers heard Him say before He returned to Heaven. What did He want them to know? He told them to be His witness throughout the world. He wanted His followers to spread His message so that the entire world knew about Him. The remarkable thing about this call to His disciples is that they obeyed! This small group of people literally carried the message of Christ all throughout the world. You and I are proof.
Jesus’ message that day was not just for his disciples. Years and years later, it is for you and me, too. God’s call to them is the same call that we have. We, too, are called to be Christ’s witnesses. That means we are to carry the message of Christ to the world around us. We get to partner with Him in making Him known throughout the world. Will you join in this most important calling?
It is time that you and I take Jesus’ command to spread His message of hope to the world seriously. We, as a church, want to be sure we are taking this call seriously, which is why we encourage everyone who is a part of our church to have at least one person who is far from Christ whom they are praying for and looking for opportunities to share their faith with. Who is your person? Pray for them right now and look for an opportunity this week to call or meet up with them and show them the love of Christ.
In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
