February 13 Daily Discovery
February 13 Daily Discovery
Read Acts Chapter 1
Wait, then Witness!
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
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.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
~ Acts 1:4-11
Those of Israel that were looking and hoping for the Messiah to come, were anticipating a physical kingdom that had been promised to them.
They had missed all of the passages in the Scriptures that they had (The Old Testament) that revealed the redeeming work of the Messiah and focused solely upon those passages that promised them a King that would deliver them from the rule of the Gentile nations.
Of course, we know that the primary deliverance that Jesus was focused upon was delivering them from their sins, and not only Jews, but Gentiles as well.
The Waiting
They had all scattered when their Master was tried and crucified. They are now back together, having seen and touched their risen LORD.
However, they were still fixed upon the earthly kingdom.
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
"OK, Jesus, you died but you raised yourself up again. So NOW it must be time to restore Israel to it's glorious, world-wide kingdom, right?"
Christ dismissed this question, telling them it was not for them to KNOW the times or the seasons, but instead to WAIT for the promise of God.
- They wanted the kingdom of Israel to be restored.
- Jesus wanted the kingdom of God to be expanded.
The next thing in the major events of history concerning these Hebrew believers in Jesus was the baptism of the Holy Spirit that John had told them Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God would bring.
Jesus essentially told them:
"Don't worry over the coming of the Kingdom of Israel, WAIT on the power of God to WITNESS for Me!"
The Witnessing
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.
~ Acts 1:8
Jesus did not expect them to do God's work without God's power!
He told them what was "NEXT", it would NOT be the restoring of the kingdom of Israel, it would be the enduement of power from on high!
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
~ Luke 24:49
The gospel message of the forgiveness of sins was going to be preached in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and then the rest of the world.
Their First Commission
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
~ Matt. 10:1-23
The "Great Commission"
The first time Jesus sent the twelve out, He told them, "Just focus upon Israel. Don't go to the Samaritans and don't go to the gentiles."
Now, the commission is being expanded. It would not be just the twelve, but every believer in Jesus Christ and it would be Samaria and the rest of the world.
What About that Kingdom?
The passage above actually gives an answer; that Jesus would come into His kingdom BEFORE they had gone over all of the cities of Israel. (See Matt. 10:23)
The kingdom that they anticipated was not that far away.
In our Past
The kingdom came.
It lasted 1,000 years.
It ended.
His elect were gathered by the angels.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
~ Matt. 24:29-31
Satan was loosed from his prison and is now deceiving the whole world to what is called the "battle of God and Magog."
This battle ends the rebels against God once for all and the New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem usher in the Eternal Kingdom.
In Our Future
The final battle (Gog & Magog) - the entire world against Jesus and the camp of the saints (heavenly Jerusalem coming to earth).
Eternity with Jesus, our human brothers and sisters that have become children of God and the holy angels. Heaven is ahead!
In Our Present
Love God with all of your heart, love your neighbor as yourself and love the lost. Live for Jesus, enjoy walking with Him, be faithful to Him and keep witnessing!
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Continue Your Search
Do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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