6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Acts 1:6
The Jewish people believed that the Messiah would deliver them from Rome and restore the nation to its rightful place.
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Old Testament did not distinguish between the first and second coming of the Messiah. This led to the expectation that He would do the things Jesus did in His ministry but also that He would also deliver the nation. We see an example of this in the disciples’ question.
Jesus came to provide redemption for mankind in His first coming to the earth. We are now in the Church age which will be followed with Jesus’ return. At that time, He will fulfill the remaining prophecies concerning His second coming.
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Acts 1:7-9
This is Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question about the timing when He would restore the Kingdom. He basically told them that the timing was not something that they would know. There have been many ministers throughout Church history that have claimed to know the date of His return but each has been proven wrong.
Jesus told the disciples that they would not know the date of His return but instead that they should focus on waiting for the Holy Spirit to come with His anointing to empower them to be witnesses of Him.
It is important for us to take note of the fact that He said we would receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on us. In this statement, we find a key to unlocking the power of the Holy Spirit. Power will not be present in our lives until we have been immersed in His presence.
The disciples had confessed Jesus as their Lord which means that they had been born again. This was not enough for them to be sent out in ministry. His last command before ascending to the Father was for them to wait until the Holy Spirit came on them with His power.
I believe that the Church is not having the influence on the world that she should have because most of us have not obeyed Jesus’ last command. We lead people to Jesus, stuff a bunch of tracts in their hands, and send them out to be witnesses. They are being sent out without power and most become discouraged and either leave the church or never witness to another individual.
Power is only imparted to us after the Holy Spirit comes on us. As a whole, the majority of Christians do not embrace the concept of there being a second experience after salvation. How can we expect to impact the world if we are not honoring Jesus’ last command?
I have spent some time over the years researching the lives of men and women that have had ministries noted for the miraculous. The one common denominator discovered is that every one of these people had an encounter with the Holy Spirit after they had become a Christian.
Churches are filled with Christians who have never experienced the Holy Spirit or His power. These are good people who serve faithfully in their churches but make little impact in their communities. They struggle with the same financial issues as their neighbors and experience the same illnesses.
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.
Acts 17:6
Have you ever had anyone accuse you of turning the world upside down? I haven’t but that is exactly what happened when Paul and his companions showed up. They walked in the power of the Holy Spirit and even the unbelievers could not deny it!
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
Matthew 3:11
There is a second experience after salvation. This is where we are immersed in the Holy Spirit and receive His power. A lot of people argue against this. They say that they’ve received the Holy Spirit when they were born again. We have seen that Jesus breathed on the disciples and they received the Spirit at the moment of salvation. They had the Holy Spirit but His last command to them was still to wait until they were immersed in the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for stopping by today. If this post has been a blessing please share our blog with your friends and family.
You can be a vital part in helping MB Media by making a contribution to help support our operation and social media outreaches. Thank you in advance for your support and God bless you!
We use the secure services of PayPal for credit card transactions. When you click the button below, you will be taken to the PayPal secure web sever to enter your credit card information.
If you would like to partner with us on a monthly basis, please enter the monthly amount you would like to donate and click “Make this a monthly donation”. Your monthly support will be automatically sent to us each month when you complete the Subscription Form on PayPal’s site.
MBDevotional 