Tuesday, April 7,
2015, 5:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Praise the I AM.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Acts 1:1-11 (ESV).
His Suffering
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.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, left his throne in heaven, came
to earth, and was born in the likeness of men. At the age of about 30 he began
his earthly ministry. He chose 12 disciples to join with him in ministry who he
trained and discipled. Jesus healed the sick and the disabled, raised the dead,
delivered people from demonic possession, and he comforted the sorrowful. He
preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life, and he
taught the cost of being one of his followers. He taught that we must deny
ourselves, die daily to sin and self, and follow (obey) him. He said his sheep
listen to his voice and they follow (obey) him. When he told his followers that
they must participate with him in his death, many deserted him never to return,
because they said his teaching was too hard.
Jesus had admirers, followers and enemies. His enemies were
among his own people and even from within his own family and faith. Primarily
they were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They came down hard
against Jesus over and over again. They didn’t like him for many reasons, some
of which were that they were jealous of him and his popularity, and he served
as a threat to their own positions of power. They despised him because he told
them the truth about their sins. They didn’t like him because he didn’t follow
all their rules. And, they hated him because he claimed to be God, which is who
he is.
They hated him so much that they plotted to take his life.
They arrested him, falsely accused him, gave him a mock trial, spat upon him,
mocked him, beat him and then hung him on a cross to die, as though he was a
common criminal. They thought that would put an end to his message and to the
threat he posed to their own positions of power, but it didn’t turn out the way
they had planned, because they didn’t realize he was and is exactly who he said
he was.
When he died, he crucified our sins with him. And, just as
he had told them that this would happen, he was raised from the dead –
triumphant over hell, Satan, death and sin. He appeared to many people who
served as witnesses to his resurrection. During these appearances, his
followers were encouraged in their faith, and they went on to spread his gospel
message and to see many more people come to faith in Jesus Christ, turning from
their sins, being born anew of the Spirit of God, and walking no longer
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
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.”
When Jesus was with his disciples, before he was crucified,
he told them that he was going to be delivered up to death, but that he would
come back to life, and that he would then go back to the Father. Yet, he
comforted them with the knowledge that he would not leave them as orphans. They
had left everything to follow Jesus. He had been their lives for over three
years. I am sure they wondered what they would do once he was gone. He told
them he would send them the Holy Spirit, who was then with them, but would be
in them. The Spirit would teach them all about Jesus, and he would remind them
of everything Jesus had taught them. Jesus also told them that he was going to
prepare a place for them, and that one day he would come back to take them to
be with him, and they would be with him always.
The people who followed Jesus when he walked the face of
this earth were in a unique situation that has not been copied since then. They
believed in Jesus while he was on the earth before the Holy Spirit was sent to
indwell them. So, when he left this earth, and then sent his Holy Spirit to live
in them, and thus they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, separate from having
believed in Jesus, it was because of the historical situation they found
themselves in. The Holy Spirit was not yet given to believers to indwell them
prior to Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, at which time he
then did send the Holy Spirit to them. So, we must be careful that we don’t
build doctrines around historical events, but rather we build our doctrines
around the teachings (instructions) of scripture.
What I mean is that all those who followed Jesus when he
walked the face of this earth had a separate experience with the Holy Spirit,
because of their unique situation in history. Yet, since that time, all who
have followed the Lord Jesus have been baptized in the Spirit at the time they
believed in Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. The teachings of the
writers of the New Testament from Romans to Revelation bear this out to be
true. Our baptism in the Spirit is our salvation, i.e. it is our new birth, and
it is then we are indwelt with the Spirit, transformed through new birth, and are
empowered with the Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses.
His Witnesses
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.”
Jesus’ disciples were much like us. They lived in flesh
bodies. They had finite minds which often could only see things in a physical
realm and had difficulty grasping, at times, the spiritual realm. They were
still looking for Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom, but Jesus’ kingdom was
not of this world, though one day he will reign on the earth following the time
called the Tribulation, after which Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. Also,
Israel is now all those who have faith in Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile
by birth. Through Jesus’ death he destroyed the barrier between Jew and
Gentile, and he made us one “man” in Christ. So, the division is no longer Jew
and Gentile, but is the saved and the unsaved. So, the kingdom of Israel is now
the church, the body of Christ, and it is a spiritual body, not a physical
body, though it is comprised of physical people who are followers of Jesus
Christ (See: Romans 9:6b-8; Gal. 3:10, 16, 26-29; Gal. 4:22-31; Eph.
2:14-18).
Jesus dismissed their inquiry by telling them that it
was not for them to know the times or seasons the Father had fixed by his own
authority. Then, he focused their attention on the “here and now.” Sometimes I
wish I could see things that are not for me to see, at least not right now.
Sometimes I wish I could see into the future and know what is going to happen,
but some things are not for me to know. I just have to trust my Lord, that he
knows best, and that he will work out all things for my good, according to his
purposes and for his glory. I believe that is where the disciples were. They wanted
to know things that were not for them to know right then. They were to focus
their attention on what God had for them now, and to trust him with their
future. Don’t we all need to hear that and believe it?
The “here and now” that Jesus would have them focus
their attention upon was that he would be sending them the Holy Spirit, and
when they were baptized in the Spirit, they would then be empowered of the
Spirit from on high to be Jesus’ witnesses throughout the world, beginning at
home and then taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. And, that is what he
would have us focus our attention upon, too, not waiting for the Holy Spirit,
if we are already in Christ by faith, but us yielding the control of our lives
over to the Spirit in allowing Jesus’ life to be lived out through us in us being
his light to the world around us. As well, Jesus said something similar to this
as one of the commands he gave his followers before going back to the Father.
He said to them,
“All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
Praise the “I AM!” / An Original Work /
February 24, 2012
Jesus,
my Savior, full of compassion,
Glorious
in power, mighty in strength;
Gracious
Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,
My
heart adores Him. Praise to His name!
Perfect
salvation my Lord provided
When
He died for my sins on a tree;
Crucified
my sins; conquered in vict’ry,
When
He arose, so I could be free!
I
am so thankful for His forgiveness;
Grateful
that He chose to pardon me,
Giving
me new life full in His Spirit,
So
I can serve Him; His servant be!
Walking
in daily fellowship with Him,
Obeying
Him whate’er He commands;
Forsaking
my sins, living in freedom,
I
will endure with Him to the end!
He
gives me peace and calm reassurance
In
times of sorrow, or in distress.
His
grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient
To
meet me in my need for sweet rest.
Oh,
how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.
My
heart longs for You where’er I am.
Your
word is precious; speaks to my spirit;
Brings
comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”
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