You Will Receive Power - Acts 1:1-11

The Ascension Of Jesus - Acts 1:1-11

I once had the privilege of driving a very powerful car.

It was a Porsche Taycan that a friend let me drive.

He handed me the keys in his office, and told me where it was parked. And that was all.

I walked out to the car, got inside, and that was when I realized... I had no idea how to start it.

New cars have a lot of incredible technological advancements.

All my cars are old.

So when I got into this car, I had available to me an incredible amount of power, but until I figured out how to start the car, I couldn’t access the power.

As believers, we have available to us the same incredible power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead!

We just need to know how to access it.

Accessing the power of God that is available to us is what we want to talk about as we begin the book of Acts.

The book of Acts is a transition book.

As the author, Luke, introduces the book to Theophilus, the man he first sent it to, he reminds us that Acts is a part 2.

Part 1 is the Gospel of Luke in which, according to verse 1, Luke recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach.

The Gospel of Luke closes with Jesus ascending into heaven.

Here in Acts chapter 1 Luke reveals that Jesus had given commands to the apostles through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus ordered them to wait in Jersualem until they recieved “the promise of the Father” which, according to verse 5, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

So the book of Acts is taking us from Jesus life and ministry to the working of the Holy Spirit through the apostles.

As usual, the Apostles miss the point a little bit and verse 6 records them asking about what the future is going to bring.

More specifically, they wanted to know when Jesus was going to rule and reign from a physical throne.

What did Jesus say?

Here is my paraphrase. “Don’t worry about it, preach the gospel.”

Let’s read verse 8.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 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.”

This verse gives us a rough outline of the book of Acts.

Acts records the gospel going from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the end of the earth.

We will come back to this verse in a second, but let’s finish up the section first.

Jesus tells them to just preach the gospel, and he ascends.

Angels then come down with a message. Again, let me paraphrase, “stop staring at the clouds and go preach the gospel!”

Jesus commanded the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit.

When they recieved the Holy Spirit, their task was to witness of Jesus.

They were to start right at home, and move out from there.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God hasn’t changed His mind.

We too have been commanded by God to be His witnesses!

We start right at home, then we share in the surrounding area, then the next city over, and then the world.

Don’t get distracted wondering when Jesus is going to rule and reign, not that it isn’t important, but it isn’t the task we have been given!

We dare not stand still staring at the clouds, we have a job to do!

And here is the most awesome part of all, we have everything we need to be witnesses of Jesus.

Every single child of God has the Holy Spirit living inside of them!

We are not like me sitting in that powerful car with no way to turn it on.

I did figure it out by the way.

We have access to the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us!

God the Holy Spirit empowers us to proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus!

We can be His witnesses because we have His power living in us.

Let me challenge you with this thought.

Don’t let a spirit of fear prevent you from witnessing.

Instead.

Today, right now, tap into the power of the Holy Spirit.

How?

Spend time reading this chapter, spend time praying about who the Holy Spirit would have you share your salvation story with.

Then go and proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Remember to come back and join us as we journey through the book of Acts learning how the Holy Spirit moved the Apostles to share the story of Jesus.