Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
The Ascension: Experience the Closeness, Acts 1:1-11
The trajectory of Luke’s narrative in Acts constructs the history of the beginning of the church as a promise from Jesus Himself. That promise foretells the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the global spread of Christianity throughout the ancient world.
The way in which Luke introduces the promise of the Spirit informs us that Jesus’ ascension will take who He was and what He did on earth and release it with multiplying power into our lives and throughout the world.
The Ascension (Acts 1:1-11)
The biblical description of Jesus’ ascension is not stating (spatially) that Jesus is in outer space (otherwise Luke would have provided an account similar to the ‘heavenly journeys’), but that Jesus now permanently bears a new relationship to us as our King––i.e., the One who governs our actions, hears our needs in the throne room, leads us in battle, empowers our efforts, and wisely guides the fate of our lives.
The Promise of the Spirit shows us that "ascension" will take who He is and what He did on earth & release its multiplying power into our lives & throughout the world... It is inviting Theophilus and us if we want to take part in this promise of the Spirit. If so:
1. ASK THE QUESTIONS
2. TASTE (& SEE) THE FRUIT
3. EXPERIENCE THE CLOSENESS
Challenges that Acts Presents to us Today:
OUR MISSION. Acts demonstrates the priority of sharing our faith with others. These early evangelists sought to show that Christianity could answer the questions people were asking, and the records of the speeches indicate that their message was strongly content-oriented––i.e., they had something valuable and meaningful to say when the opportunity arose.
OUR CIRCUMSTANCES. Second, Acts presents a vibrant community that is passionate about the mission of the Church irrespective of their immediate circumstance.
OUR COMMUNITY. And more broadly, to a Western society in which individualism reigns, the earliest Christian community presents a people who strove to hold all things in common…
Comments (0)
To leave or reply to comments, please download free Podbean or
No Comments
To leave or reply to comments,
please download free Podbean App.