By Nicole McLeod
Acts Chapter 1
The title of the message this morning is Wait Receive Witness. These were the important parting instructions Jesus gave to His disciples as He prepared to leave and ascend gloriously into heaven. Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit’s power, which they would receive to be His witness to the world.
It’s exciting being a Christian in the world today, being a part of God’s kingdom and seeing it expand and grow with each person who receives Christ. Jesus said in Luke 15:10 “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” We want to be a part of this heavenly joy!
The church has come a long way since Acts chapter 1. As of early 2025, there are approximately 2.6 billion Christians worldwide, making Christianity still the world's largest religion, making up roughly 32% of the total global population. And the growth and spread of the gospel is credited to extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit, and men and women who live Spirit filled lives. In order to be a witness for Jesus, we need the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, we pause now to pray and ask you would fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit here today. Teach us and help us as we open our hearts to you and to all You have for us. Help us truly know ‘the love of Christ; that we may be filled with all the fullness You have for us, according to Your word. In Jesus name.
Acts 1:1-3 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up,” (referring here to Jesus’ ascension) “after He (Jesus) through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Luke, the only gentile writer of the Bible, authored both his gospel and the Book of Acts, which together make up about 25% of the New Testament. Luke wrote these books under divine inspiration to Theophilus, an influential official, to inform him about the history of Christianity. His former account, his gospel, wrote an orderly account of Jesus’ 30+ years of life and ministry on earth, while Acts wrote of Jesus' ongoing ministry through the church, and church expansion by the Holy Spirit in those first 30 years of the churches life.
The name Theophilus means “God-lover,” so these books continue to inform the church of every generation, and all who love God all about Christianity.
I want to point out in verse 2, that it was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave commandments /instructions to the apostles He had chosen. If the risen Jesus taught in the power of the Holy Spirit, so should we all. This is a pattern given to us.
I also want to point out in verse 2, these were apostles whom He had chosen, He said in John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” He chose them and was getting them ready….
In our previous studies we’ve discussed how important it was that He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering to give them absolute certainty of His resurrection through many infallible proofs.
And in this 40-day period, He instructed them on the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, to give them sound gospel doctrine. These apostles were also the ones Jesus had breathed upon to receive the Holy Spirit. After His ascension, the Holy Spirit would then come upon them to be their continual and ongoing source of direction and power.
Acts 1:4-5 “And being assembled together with them, He (Jesus) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Here we see Jesus instructions. They were commanded to remain in Jerusalem, and to wait for the Promise of the Father. Luke also recorded Jesus’ instructions to them to remain and wait in his gospel, Luke 24:49 telling them “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry (wait) in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Waiting is never easy, and embracing God’s timing isn’t always easy. But their waiting on God wasn't passive; it was an act of faith, and of obedience to the Lord.
“The Greek word for wait used here in Acts 1:4 is Perimenō, is used only once in the New Testament. (Strong's G4037) a verb meaning "to wait for," "to await," or "to stay around". The word implies actively waiting or remaining in a place expecting something.”
They did this. They waited for the God appointed time and day, which Jesus said would be not many days from now.
God has a time and season for everything. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." Consider the timing of the crucifixion, the resurrection, and Day of Pentecost. These key events coincided, (not coincidently) with Jewish feasts established in the OT.
1. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified on the day of the Passover Feast.
2. His resurrection was on the day of the Feast of First Fruits. This feast celebrates the first fruits of the harvest.
3. The Feast of Pentecost was always fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits.
After His resurrection, we know that Jesus spent forty days on earth and then Ascended to heaven, so if we do some simple math, we see that disciples waited ten more days for the promise of the Father.”
And what was the Promise from the Father? It was the promise that they would “be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Greek word baptizō means: to immerse, to cleanse, to overwhelm, so Jesus is saying to them, you shall be immersed within the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3:11 we have the words John himself said about this, “I (John) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
What John said was about to happen!
Next, we find an important detail in Lukes gospel about a change of location from Jerusalem to Bethany. Luke 24:50 tells us that Jesus next “led them out as far as Bethany” a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.
Acts 1:6-8 “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him (Jesus), saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This was a question they had asked Jesus before, and my Walford and Zuch commentary helps explain that their question reveals their deeply Jewish perspective and understanding of prophesy.
“In the disciples minds the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the promised Kingdom were closely associated, because the Old Testament Jewish prophets frequently joined the two. When Christ told the disciples of the soon coming Holy Spirit baptism, they immediately concluded that the restoration of Israel’s kingdom was near in time.”
Jesus did not rebuke them for this question but re- focused them upon His instructions to wait in Jerusalem, and receive power to be His witnesses, for this was God’s plan for this time. Everything God has promised will come to pass but the times and seasons are in God’s divine authority.
Daniel 2:21-22 “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.”
We are waiting - we don’t know the day or hour of the rapture, or of Jesus return, but we know it will be soon, and we are to stay busy about and focused on the tasks God has given us to do, and we have His Word, and know not to rely on ourselves, but the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8a Jesus told them, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
They were to receive dunamis (power) to be His witnesses. Extraordinary power from God which would give the disciples boldness, wisdom in speaking, miraculous power and the ability to demonstrate the Gospel with their transformed lives. We get our English words dynamite and dynamic from the word dunamis. Luke writes a lot about this dunamis power and role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the church throughout Acts. The Holy Spirit is spoken of 57 times. This is a book about power that comes from the Holy Spirit. And we need this power just as much today.
Point #1: God wants believers to live a power-filled life in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, one God revealed in three persons. In our verses we see the Trinity. Jesus speaking of the Father and the Holy Spirit – three in one. We receive the Holy Spirit the moment we turn, repent and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation and spiritual rebirth, sealing us as a child of God. We are to continually seek the power of the Holy Spirit, even daily. Ephesians 5:18 says to "be filled with the Spirit," which in the original Greek implies a continuous, ongoing action, "keep on being filled."
If you open up your heart and ask He will keep filling and overflowing your life with power and His work of sanctification. As Jesus said in Luke 11:13, "...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" We can ask Him every day to fill us with boldness and power to be His witness.
- Before we are saved, the Holy Spirit is with us "with" (para) convicting us of sin and drawing us to the Savior.
- Once we receive Jesus and put our faith in him, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives - dwelling "in" us (en), and our lives are transformed and being sanctified.
- The Holy Spirit also comes upon us to empower us for service and ministry. To come upon is the term (epi). This is the word used here in Acts 1:8, to describe the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
So, on the Day of the Feast of Pentecost, 120 disciples waited in Jerusalem as commanded, and the Holy Spirit came upon (epi) them with “power from on high" and the church became alive, and the flame was lit that burns brightly still. We need the Holy Spirit’s power so much in our day!
Acts 1:8b and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
They received dunamis power to be Christ’s witnesses, martus, where we get the modern English word "martyr". The power from on high would empower them to remain faithful to the Lord, to the gospel message, facing hostility, and death for the gospel. They shared the gospel with boldness and courage even when facing imprisonment, beatings, plots and riots. Even their enemies declared that they Acts 17:6 “turned the world upside down” or we would say, right side up! The world sought to silence their witness, but the persecution they faced was a catalyst for the spread of Christianity.
In an increasingly anti-Christian culture, we are in great need of this power to be a witness. We cannot rely upon ourselves; we need the Holy Spirit.
Point #2 Believers must rely on divine power rather than their own strength to carry out the mission of sharing the Gospel.
Christ’s work of redemption had been completed on the cross, but the work of gathering the redeemed must continue until the task is completed. The disciples also became the first witnesses of a transformed new life in Christ. They had a joy in their hearts, power in the Spirit and love in their lives, it was clear evidence that Jesus must be real!
“The best training program for evangelism is of little effectiveness without the filling of the Holy Spirit.”
Point #3: The church's mission begins in prayer and continues through our witness empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus in vs. 8 laid out God’s plan for the witness to expand with the Spirit’s empowerment. It would start locally (Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria) and expand and spread globally, "to the ends of the earth".
Our “Jerusalem” is our home and immediate environment among family and friends. Our “Judea” is the city or community we live in. Our “Samaria” would include our state and country, and the whole world includes everything beyond that.
Acts 1:9-11 describes the (wonderful) ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ which marks the end of His earthly ministry and the beginning of His ministry from Heaven.
Acts 1:9 “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
This was an awesome and awe-inspiring moment for sure!!! The cloud was a visible sign that God’s glory was present - the shekinah glory of God – and it was so wonderful to see. Luke, in his gospel account of the ascension tells us what Jesus was doing as He ascended. He was blessing them as He was taken up from them.
Jesus had told them in John 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus explained that it was to their advantage for Him to go and begin His glorious heavenly reign, and we will look at these advantages more closely in our Ascension study in April.
Acts 1:10-11 “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men (angels) stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
These two angels interrupted their awestruck moment and then gave them a wonderful promise! One day this same Jesus will come again, in the same way as you saw him go into heaven - visibly, and bodily with clouds. He will return to earth to set up His promised Kingdom. And we know God keeps all His promises!
We are living in the time period between the ascension and Jesus return which is known as “the church age.” This is a limited time period, and much time has passed, so we are to keep sharing the good news with others, in the power of the Holy Spirit. The gospel message, thanks to the internet and committed believers led by the Holy Spirit, is circling the globe in our generation in a way that the first disciples may never have ever imagined possible! We’re also nearer to the rapture of the church and second coming than we’ve ever been. We can’t know how much or how little time we have left.
As I was studying, I was curious to see how progress is coming with reaching unreached people groups in the world today and looked at some websites. Many of us are familiar with the 10/40 window, which is the primary focus of global missions. This is the part of the world with the most “unreached people”, highest poverty rates, and most severe Christian persecution, representing ~5 billion people (70%) unreached, 60+ countries. I was surprised to see that even in CA we have many unreached people groups, largely due to migration and immigration. Some of these hard-to-reach groups have come to our communities. I hope we will take this to Lord in prayer today. All of us can participate in the great commission in some way or another - through praying, giving, helping, witnessing, welcoming or going.
Acts 1:12-14 “They returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. (A Sabbath day’s journey, is commonly understood to be about a half a mile).
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
After the ascension, the disciples return to Jerusalem to the upper room where they devoted themselves to prayer. What a beautiful picture to close with today. The redeemed men and women of God gathered together, in one accord, in prayer and supplication, following Jesus’ instructions awaiting the promise of the Father. What a perfect way to spend the days leading up to the day of Pentecost, when the Church was born, the Spirit was given and the Spirit filled Christian life began.
In closing:
We covered a lot today, and we only briefly touched on the subject of waiting on the Lord, because in vs. 4, Jesus’ command to wait – was a command to wait for a specific God ordained day. But waiting on the Lord is something all of us do as we pray and trust in God’s promises by faith. Scripture encourages us to wait on the Lord, and so as we close in prayer, I want us to take this moment to do just that, believing that waiting, asking for and receiving power from God, will give us what we need to take our next steps in our walk with God.
I want to encourage you, if you have never prayed to receive this overflowing and empowering work of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to ask Him today to baptize you afresh, ask Him to pour out His Spirit in your life. Remember, Luke 11:13, "...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" How much more, will the Father give you the fullness and the power of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, spiritual strength, power to be a witness for Christ, this is a beautiful thing to ask for as we close today.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your Word and for all You have done for us. We believe that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes to us from You Father, and I believe that some of us here just want more of You in our lives. So, we’re asking now, for Your power and Your presence, for Your Holy Spirit to come upon us, fill us to overflowing, baptize us, refresh us and overflow our lives, and we pray in Jesus name. AMEN