The Church on Mission

{Acts 1:1-14}

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

[Rev. Dwight Yoo]

Major Points

The Continuing Mission

In verses 1&2, Luke refers to the gospel book. Then Luke indicates that he plans to outline Jesus' continuing work.. Verse 3 tells of Jesus, the Risen Lord who spends 40 days with the apostles. This is no hallucination. This sounds crazy, but it is not. A single person experiencing hallucinations, very possible. Mass hallucination over an extended period of time? Highly unlikely.
In verse 6, the apostles ask whether the coming kingdom is coming now. They were hoping for instant, nationally minded... kingdom come. Specifically, they were hoping for Israel to overthrow Rome. They were hoping that Jesus would be the King of the earthly kingdom, Israel. Political power. National restoration. Jesus was telling them otherwise...

The Power for Mission

In verse 8, the Holy Spirit will empower us to continue Jesus' mission. It is not enough to just do it in our own power. We need the Holy Spirit to minister. This power changed people from fearful to courageous, from timid to bold.

Preparation for Mission

In verse 14, we see the apostles go back to gather and pray.

There are three things that appear in this community.
Obedience - Even through all these changes, the people are willing to follow. This reflects a spirit of faith and care. People only pay attention, if they care. People only do, if they believe in someone or something.
Prayer - They were ready and willing to chase after God in prayer.
Unity - They loved one another.