“God Is Not Done”
Acts 1:4-8
The next verse there is a question asked that the Disciples wanted to know the answer to.
Vs. 6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
“Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” - “The kingdom had been for some time taken away from the Jews, Judea was reduced to a Roman province, and was now actually under the power of a Roman governor.
The nation in general was in great expectation, that upon the Messiah's coming they should be delivered from the yoke of the Romans, and that the son of David would be king over them.
The disciples of Christ had the same notions, and were in the same expectation of a temporal kingdom to be set up by their master, and though his sufferings and death had greatly damped their spirits, and almost destroyed their hopes, yet his resurrection from the dead, and his discoursing with them about the kingdom of God, and ordering them to wait at Jerusalem, for something extraordinary, revived their hopes, and emboldened them to put this question to him.” John Gill
For those who believe that God is finished with the people and nation of the Jews; I see here that is not going to happen.
God’s promises to His people are without end.
Yes they too need to be saved and that is a slow meticulous turning.
They walk looking for the Messiah to come and establish His kingdom on earth and He has already established His Kingdom in Heaven.
Look at Romans 11:1-8
We find Paul explaining why Israel is not saved yet needs to be saved.
Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Ephesians 3:6 - That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Malachi 3:6 - For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Genesis 17:7 “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
Exodus 6:5 “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.”
Jeremiah 31:35-37 “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”
Vs. 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.
When should be the time, the day, and hour of the coming of the son of man, when he shall set up his kingdom in a more glorious manner, and the kingdoms of this world shall become his; or when the kingdom shall be restored to Israel.
Jesus simply said, “that is none of your concern.” It is not for you to know the times or the seasons
Which the Father hath put in his own power - It is empty and fruitless to indulge into the thing that you have nothing to do with.
The times and season is of the LORD and not man.
Matthew 24:36-39 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
The real concern that we must consider is, “Where will you spend eternity?”
Now we come to verse 8 and Jesus is telling us all;
Vs. 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.”
But ye shall receive power - Luke 24:49 “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.”
Power - dunamis (doo’-nam-is) strength, ability, might
This power is not me but that which is given to me by God.
The ability to accomplish all that the Lord would have us to do.
Holy Ghost - pneuma (pnyoo’-mah) Holy breath of God. The third person of God!
Upon - this means both on and in you.
Witnesses - a witness, in a legal sense; in a historical sense, one who is a spectator of anything,
both in Jerusalem, the "capital" of the nation, and there, in the first place, where such dwelt who had been concerned in the crucifixion of Christ, many of whom were to be called by grace, and converted through their ministry:
and in all Judea; that part of the land of Israel which was distinct from Samaria and Galilee, and from beyond Jordan; where churches were to be planted, as afterwards they were.
Acts 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
And in Samaria; where Christ had before forbid his disciples to go; but now their commission is enlarged, and they are sent there; and here Philip went upon the persecution raised against the church at Jerusalem, and preached Christ with great success, to the conversion of many; and hither Peter and John went to lay their hands on them, and confirm them;
Acts 8:5 “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
and unto the uttermost part of the earth; throughout the whole world, whither the sound of the apostles, and their words went,
Romans 10:18 “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
Conclusion:
As Luke is giving testimony to Theophilus He is showing him that God was not done with this world or His people.
He is not done with this land as well; if you have breath and are willing to be used of God, He will give to you the same power to accomplish His good pleasure of spreading the Great news of salvation to those who are lost.
Time to DO that which God has given us power to do.
