Fully Devoted: The ChurchSample

Intro and Ascension

For forty days after walking out of His own grave and into a garden, Jesus met with people. From dearest friends to random strangers, people got to physically encounter the risen Savior. The King had conquered death, hell, sin, and the grave, and now He was preparing a group of people to build on the groundwork He laid. Jesus was the firstborn of the New Creation—meaning that God’s intention has always been to bring about total restoration. New life isn’t something Jesus ever planned on keeping to Himself. He made it possible for all of us to go from death to life, to move from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. And when we participate in that kingdom, we share Jesus’ mission. We’re invited to partner with God in the restoration of creation and redemption of humanity. We get to continue the work that Jesus started. 

That’s what the book of Acts is all about. Luke, the author, makes it clear right off the bat that Jesus is still working to build His kingdom. 

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:1-3 NIV 

Did you catch that? Luke sums up his entire gospel account—Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection—as just the beginning! Does that fill you with excitement? It should! Jesus is still working to build His kingdom today. And He’s doing it by His Spirit through His Church. We’re literally living in the biblical story that we’ve been studying. Let that sink in for a second. Look at what you are a part of. A good beginning, the fall, the formation of a family, the promise of hope, the coming of the Messiah, the defeat of death, and the rule and reign of King Jesus taking root in history. This story is our story. Do you feel the significance of it?

How can we continue to trust the story and partner with the God who’s writing it? These are the questions the earliest Jesus followers were asking. And the book of Acts invites us to watch them figure it out. There are two things we realize pretty quickly.

1. The power comes from the Spirit.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

In the Great Commission, Jesus charged His still somewhat shaken followers to continue the work that He had started—to go as far as He was willing to go, to teach what He taught, and live how He lived. But what transformed them from a band of, honestly, bad friends, into a group of people who literally shared everything they had with one another? No longer do we see a bunch of skittish, spastic followers. We find a group of committed, confident leaders—because the power to do this comes from the Holy Spirit.

This moment is so significant, because what is happening here is that Jesus is sharing His anointing with us. In the Old Testament, kings were anointed to designate them as set apart to serve. It was a symbol of God’s presence with a person to empower them to rule well. There was authority that came with that anointing. It was a calling that had weight and joy. 

How was Jesus anointed? Well, Jesus’ anointing happened at His baptism. When He came up from the water, heaven opened and the Spirit of God descended and rested on Jesus. And we see this reflected with the disciples. The Spirit descends and rests on each of them. They were anointed in the same way that Jesus was. And so are we. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and it is this Spirit that empowers us to live like Jesus—to go, to share, to love with radical grace and evident boldness.

2. The method comes from Jesus. 

The power to partner with God in continuing to bring heaven to earth comes from the Spirit. And the way we partner with God is by taking our cues from Jesus. It’s really neat to note that the first sermon Jesus preached was one of repentance: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mark 1:15). And the first challenge from the disciples?

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39 NIV 

Peter was taking his cues from Jesus. The disciples had gotten it. And in Acts we see this beautiful picture of a growing group of people who didn’t just pretend to love one another—they really did. Was this some weird utopia? No, it was a people led by Jesus, shaped by His grace, and moved by love. 

And it was this group of people who radically changed the world. What would happen if we also took our cues from Jesus? What would happen if we learned to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit instead of our own? I think we would realize that in the same way the disciples were called to that specific moment in God’s story, we are called to this one. 

Journaling Questions:  

• What verse or verses stand out to you from today’s reading? Write them in your journal.     
• Tell about a time when you relied on your own efforts instead of the Spirit’s power. What was the outcome? How did you feel?     
• What is a cue from Jesus that you have been ignoring? Identify it and ask God for the boldness to follow it next time. 

Memory Verse

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV