Acts 1 AEIOU

Title: "To the Ends of the Earth: The Ascended Christ and the Spirit-Powered Mission" Text: Acts 1:1–11 Theme: The risen and ascended Christ sends His Spirit to empower the Church to carry His gospel to all nations until He returns.

Attention: Living in a Waiting Room

Have you ever felt stuck in between? Waiting for something to start? Think of an airport departure lounge—the place between here and there. That sense of being ready, but not yet launched. The first disciples knew that feeling. They had seen Jesus rise from the dead, but the world had not yet changed. They were waiting, not passively, but expectantly. We often live there too—in the space between promise and fulfillment, resurrection and return. Acts 1 meets us in that moment.

Empathy: Why This Matters to You

We wonder: What is Jesus doing now? Why is the world still broken if Christ is risen? What does He expect from us in the meantime? Acts 1:1–11 gives the Church its marching orders and answers our longing for purpose. It reassures us that Christ is not absent, that we are not powerless, and that our lives have eternal significance. We are part of God's global mission. This changes how we pray, give, and live.

Inform: What the Text Says

1. Jesus Continues His Work from Heaven (vv. 1–3) Luke reminds us that his gospel recorded what Jesus "began" to do and teach—implying that Acts records what Jesus continues to do. The resurrection is not the end of His work, but the continuation of it from heaven. For forty days, He gave proofs and taught about the kingdom, preparing the apostles for mission.

Reformed Insight: Calvin reminds us that the resurrection anchors our confidence. Christ's ongoing work reassures us that the mission is His, not ours alone.

2. Jesus Pours Out the Spirit for Power (vv. 4–5) The disciples are told to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father—Spirit baptism. This is not about a personal second blessing but a redemptive-historical shift. The Spirit, once given selectively and temporarily in the Old Covenant, will now be given to all believers permanently and powerfully.

Clarification: Old Testament believers were born again by the Spirit, but not indwelt in the same full and permanent way. Pentecost marks the dawn of the New Covenant. From now on, all who believe are baptized with the Spirit at conversion (1 Cor. 12:13).

Vos: "The Spirit’s indwelling in the Old Testament was real but provisional, suited to a typological age. Pentecost brings the eschatological fullness."

3. Jesus Commissions the Church for Global Witness (v. 8) The disciples ask about restoring the kingdom to Israel. Jesus redirects them: "You will receive power… and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth." This is a global mission, not a national restoration.

John Stott: "We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God."

This verse isn’t only about being bold in your neighbourhood. It’s about the Church’s calling to take the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

4. Jesus Ascends and Will Return (vv. 9–11) Jesus ascends visibly and bodily. The angels say, "This same Jesus… will come back." He is now enthroned in heaven, ruling and interceding. The return is not an if but a when.

Calvin: "The ascension is not Christ's withdrawal from power, but His entrance into supreme authority."

Options: How Will You Respond?

What are our options as those living between ascension and return?

Wait idly: Like the disciples gazing upward, we can live passively, distracted from the mission.

Witness locally only: Focus on evangelism near us but ignore the unreached.

Embrace the full mission of Christ: Live, give, pray, and go with a global vision.

Through Christ, the best response becomes clear:

He reigns—we do not need fear.

He sends the Spirit—we are not powerless.

He commissions us—we have purpose.

He will return—we have urgency.

Over to You: Application

Are you relying on the Spirit for power, or on your own strength?

Do you see yourself as a witness in your own life, workplace, and home?

Are you praying for unreached peoples and countries by name?

Do you support gospel workers financially and with encouragement?

Are you raising your children with a vision for God's global glory?

You may not be called to go, but you are called to be involved. Let us not merely admire the mission but participate in it. Let us not stand looking up, but move out with the gospel.

Conclusion: Christ Reigns. The Spirit Is Given. The Mission Is Now.

Acts 1 tells us we are not waiting room Christians. We are Spirit-filled witnesses of the ascended King. The gospel must go to the ends of the earth, and we are part of that glorious task. May we live, give, go, and pray with that mission at the centre. Amen.