10. THE RISEN HOPE

10. THE RISEN HOPE

Today we join the disciples on the Mount of Olives for our last earthly glimpse of Jesus Christ. Christ’s physical departure from this earth ushered in a new era. Why is this era so important to you and me? It’s the one in which we live. Some call it “The Church Age.” But no matter what this present era is called, it is the age in which God chooses to act primarily through His disciples. In the first generation, it was Peter and the others. In this generation, it’s you and me. We have the invitation, therefore, to join the disciples for Christ’s basic instructions before leaving earth, not just as spectators but as recipients.

Luke 24:49-52 - Acts 1:1-11.

1. We, too, have reason to return to our worlds with great joy (Luke 24:52).

1 Peter 1:6-9 – Your reason for joy is that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. When our circumstances do not compel us to rejoicing; our standing in heaven; our identity in Christ is consistent.

The world out there is still looking for the living among the dead. We are the living among the dead – the fruit of the Spirit that is joy attracts people to us like nothing else.

2. We, too, have been chosen by Jesus Christ (Acts 1:1-2).

As surely has He has chosen them, He has chosen us.

Ephesians 1:17-18 – The spirit of wisdom and revelation is to pray the things that God wants for us, and to pray them boldly.

Psalm 119:33-40 – Show me the wonders of your Word.

Hope of His calling – The Greek word for “hope” is “elpis” which means “hope, expectation, prospect, eager anticipation, longing.” The Word of God tells us that He has a calling for our lives; something that He longs for us to find, so that He can reveal it to us. God sometimes uses the Holy Spirit to keep us dissatisfied until we find what it is He has called us to do.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 – God desires for us to seek Him instead of our calling, and He fulfills that in those who love Him. The kind of verb tense on “love” is a continuous, repetitive action. Continue to love Him and continue to seek Him. If you seek to make your goal in life knowing Him and loving Him, you will have an head-on collision with your calling.

3. We, too, have been given instructions through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:2).

2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 – God has not given us one thing to do that He has not equipped us to do. He has given us His Holy Spirit and His Word. We have got to know the Word of God. It is our equipment to do what we’ve been called to do. Everything that we need to know to live an obedient life to Christ is in His Word. It is either there in concrete or in concept. Pray and start searching and it will become the delight of your life.

4. God has also supplied our generations with “many convincing proofs” that He was alive (Acts 1:3).

Acts 1:3 – We are the convincing proof that Christ has left for this generation. His desire is that He shows Himself through us.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 – Our chief calling in life is to make Him conspicuous; to show God’s all-surpassing power to do more than you can do; to show His Godness. We are convincing proof that Jesus lives. We want to be the enemy’s worst nightmare.

5. We, too, receive the awesome power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:18-21).

Ephesians 1:18-21 – The word “believe” is present active participle (pap). It means continuous and repetitive. If you choose to believe God and take Him at His Word, and you do not measure your state of being by your circumstances, and you look at His Word and determine to believe that He is telling you the truth, and you begin to walk in faith as if it already happened; there is a power released in our lives that is the same power it took to raise Jesus from the dead.

This Scripture in the New Testament has more power packed into it than any other. It has three different original Greek words for power:

A. Hyskos – the faculty of God’s power.

B. Cretos – Ruling kind of power.

C. Dunamis – Power applied.

It is a fact that God is all-powerful, but when we bend the knee to His ruling power, and choose to believe what the Word of God has said is true of us; He chooses to apply that “hyskos” to us in the form of “dunamis” from which we get the English word “dynamite.” It is incomparably great power!

6. We, too, are His witnesses in our cities, our regions, our Samaria’s, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Acts 1:8 – Samaria represents to us, perhaps, the places of our former prejudices. We do not understand them and our heart tends to grow cold. This is not God’s desire for us. It is His desire for us to be witnesses unto the ends of the earth, and yes, in our Samaria’s, where all prejudices are cast aside, and we go with the fullness of the Spirit in love to minister in His name.

The original word for “witnesses” is “martus.” In the New Testament, martus represented two things:

• Those who announce the facts of the gospel and tell its tidings.

We have got to know the facts of Scripture about the Gospel to know how to articulate it. We can have zeal and no knowledge. We all have been given the power to witness. We want to be able to tell the tidings Christ has had in our own lives. There is nothing that will be more passionate for you than telling the facts of what it takes to be saved.

A. The facts of the Gospel.

B. Our own testimony of the tidings in our lives.

• Those who have suffered death in consequence of confessing Christ.

So many have died for the sake of witnessing for Jesus Christ, the word “martus” is a word that we now think of as “martyr.” Heaven will only tell the numbers that have died for Christ.

7. We, too, await the imminent and literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:10-12. Compare Zechariah 14:3-4.)

Zechariah 14:3-4 – Christ said that He would literally return just as He went to the same place – the Mount of Olives (Revelation 1:7). He will return as the Immortal Savior, the Son of God, and the King of all kings.

Romans 8:22 tells us that the whole earth groans the return of the Creator.

Job 19:23-27 – We will see Him face to face.

Luke 9:23 – If we truly live the crucified life our footprints will be covered up with the marks of the cross. All that Christ wants of us is blessed anonymity; that all that will be left is the mark of the cross.

The more you learn of Jesus, the more you want to.

Ezekiel 43:1

John 1:14