Acts 1:1-11
In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. 4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
After the plan came the:
4. Parting Vs 9-11
His parting was crowned by a “cloud” the Shekinah glory of God that filled the Temple in the Old Testament and appeared to Jesus at the Transfiguration. This cloud conveyed the presence and power of God, it was first seen in the wanderings of God’s people enroute from Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 16:10). This cloud was also present hovering over the holiest part of the Mercy Seat, resting between the Cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. Just as the blood of the Temple sacrifices was brought into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement and sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, so Jesus ascended into Heaven as both Priest and Sacrifice. His sacrifice satisfied the demands of sin. The disciples stood staring, gazing into glory. What is it that has got your gaze, is it God? Is what you are looking at and longing for the Lord. Jesus didn’t just disappear, He arrived at His destination where Mark 16:19 tells us that he is seated in the place of honor at the right hand of God. Seated because He has completed His mission to cleanse us from sin and conquered Satan. While we have an enemy that wants to accuse us we need to remember that we also have an advocate with the authority to intercede for us. It’s here that the angels remind us of His return, this is only a temporary parting because there is going to be a reunion. And when He returns it will be personal, it will be the Savior not some substitute. It will be powerful, He will come on the clouds, even the president the most powerful person on the planet needs a plane. Not only will His return be personal and powerful but it will be palpable, every eye will see. There are over 300 verses in the New Testament that reference the return of Jesus. Christ’s coming should cause us to pursue His plan which leads us to:
5. Participation Vs 9-11
They watched His parting, they waited for His power, and they witnessed to people. There is a time for watching, a time for waiting and a time for witnessing. Witnessing without watching becomes work and witness without waiting is worthless. We need to watch and wait on the Lord but we also need to be a witness and share His Word. Today many have minimized the mission to what they are comfortable with but when the church gets comfortable with the commission it will always face a crisis. In Acts 1:8 we see the commission to go to the ends of the earth and in Acts 8:1 we see the church caught up in the comfort of the city. Instead of journeying out of Jerusalem and taking Jesus to Judea and Samaria they had settled. But it was when they became comfortably complacent that the church faced a crisis. Steven was martyred while God’s people were pursued and put into prison. From a human perspective it was a disaster but from a spiritual perspective it was a present. Because persecution purged and pushed the church out. Persecution caused the church to pursue God’s plan. It says that the people ended up scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria, that wherever they went they preached the good news. They were scattered like seed. What the enemy used for evil God used to engage and evangelize. Persecution is not a terror for the church it’s a tool. Today we are whining about persecution instead of using it as a wave to motivate and move us so that we can witness and share Jesus with the whole world. We want the church to be a comfortable safe little sanctuary where we can sing our songs in secrete. But do you really think the Deity is just going to let His disciples be disobedient. The great commission isn’t a suggestion it’s a command. We are called to be a witness to a watching world. A witness simply shares what they have seen, they share their story about the Savior. I am not called to be a lawyer and argue the Almighty and shove truth down people’s throats. I’m not called to be the judge and make a ruling or be judgmental. I am called to be a witness and simply share my story of salvation. Which plan are you pursuing, Christ’s commission or the cultures comfort? We are all called to participate and point people to the Savior, Peter preached, Steven was steadfast, John wrote, we all have a story to share its not so much about the method it’s about the Messiah.

Acts 1:1-11
In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. 4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
After looking at the proof we come secondly to the:

 
2. Power – Vs 4-5
What is fascinating here is that after spending 40 days with Jesus the disciples are told to wait to witness. Imagine how they felt after spending time with the Savior, their fear had been replaced by faith, they were pumped up and ready to preach and Jesus said wait. Why did they need to wait to witness, power, they needed the help of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t matter how you feel because the gospel is not carried forward on feelings but by the Power of God. The truth is feelings never take the church very far. Unfortunately today feelings have become the fuel for many followers. As a result we say things like, “I didn’t feel very moved today, or I don’t feel fulfilled”, and so we switch churches searching for a place where we can feel better. We end up finding a church where for a while our feelings are fulfilled and everything is great, that is until our feelings are no longer being filled. We even feel about things that are not really meant for us, I regularly here Christians complimenting or complaining about worship as they say I liked or I didn’t like the worship today, instead of asking the question did God like the worship today. When did worship become about us? When feelings became our fuel. But when worship becomes about us it’s no longer worship it’s just words with music. What is the difference between worldly music and worship the one being worshiped? How about we talk about marriage for a moment and what’s really moving most marriages today? Its not a commitment based on conviction about Christ’s Word it’s the flutter of fleeting feelings. What’s driving the disease of divorce, feelings, we are a society that is constantly falling into and falling out of love because we are letting feelings drive the bus. Emotions are not the engine that engages and moves the church we need His power. It’s time for the church to come back to the power plant that God promised, the provision of the Holy Spirit. In order to effectively witness the disciples needed to wait on God for His power. Many of us have a witnessing problem because we have a waiting problem. We end up becoming disillusioned disciple instead of dependable ones because we are following our feelings instead of following the Father. Jesus started with proof, facts not feelings, and to the proof he added His power. Not only do we need to ponder the proof but we need the provision of His power is we are to pursue His:

 
3. Plan Vs 6-8
You notice right away that when it comes to the plan there is a problem
a. Confusion Vs 6
The disciples might have been convinced they were also confused when it came to whose kingdom they were working for. Notice the question that occupied their thoughts and time with Jesus: “has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” It’s easy to get distracted with what we want, and when we do it becomes about our kingdom not the Kings. They spent their time with Jesus talking about what they wanted. When you are with Jesus what do you talk about, is it your wants or His Will. You see no matter how convinced we are, and no matter how much conviction there is if we are confused about whose Kingdom we are serving we will be fruitless and fail. Today much of our passion is pointless because it’s not pointed at His kingdom but ours. Jesus confronted their confusion with:
b. Clarification Vs 7
Jesus responded by reminding them that it’s not about our feelings and our wants its about the Father and His Will, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” Like the disciples we tend to focus on the future instead of focusing on the Father. Instead of being obedient to the plan the disciples got caught up in the picture. And just like the disciples we too get caught up in wanting to know the big picture instead of participating in the plan. Don’t get distracted by the details, leave the details to the Deity. Its here that we come to the:
c. Commission Vs 8
Here’s the plan we are to witness first in:
1. Jerusalem – That is our surrounding area, our neighbors, co-workers, family and friends.

2. Judea – That is farther out from home base, it’s the outlying towns.

3. Samaria – That is still further out and encompasses our nation.

4. The ends of the earth, what we might call foreign missions. If you are not being faithful to fish where it is familiar what makes you think you will fish when you are far way?
Have you caught God’s vision, His kingdom is much bigger than yours. Are you going to settle for a mediocre mission or the Messiah’s mission? Where are you participating in His plan when it comes to, The Jerusalem’s, Judea’s, Samaria’s and the ends of the earth?