March 2: The Right Focus

Acts 1:7-8 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.”

As human beings we are always curious to know the future. Whether it is reading zodiac signs or going to a palm reader or even going to a prophet – we’d love to know what major event is going to happen next or whether the day is going to be good or bad. The disciples had a similar curiosity and wanted to know if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom of Israel now that He had risen from the dead. The Jews were largely under the Roman empire’s rule and oppression at the time of Jesus, and they were hoping that the Messiah would deliver them out of trouble and give them stability and peace.

But God had other plans. Much grander and one that spanned thousands of year to follow. And it would have been too much for the disciples to understand. So Jesus told them not to worry about what was going to happen in the future. He instead instructed them to wait for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. And with the power of the Spirit, they would become His witnesses of to all those around them – starting from their own hometown, Jerusalem and spreading out into the rest of the world.

Jesus gave the disciples a new focus, the right one. Instead of being concerned about the political situation of their land, they were to continue the work that Jesus had started in this world. God’s plan was to save the world through his Son Jesus Christ. The message of the Good News of Jesus Christ was to be preached to people everywhere. There were hundreds of thousands of people that needed to know God and enter into His kingdom. The task was great, and so a greater power was needed to accomplish it. The power of the God Himself – aka The Holy Spirit.

What is your focus as a Christian? What occupies your thoughts the most? Are you plugged into the politics of the country and worried about its future? Or are you walking in the power of God and being His witness? 2000 years after Jesus instructed His disciples to be His witnesses, there are still many souls to be saved. Hundreds of thousands of people are yet to receive Christ into their lives. The harvest continues to be plenty, and the laborers continue to be few. Understandably the task is daunting, even for the most eloquent and well-versed ones. That is exactly why need power from above.

The good news is God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit to those that seek Him. That power was not reserved for a select few classified as apostle, and then cease to exist after the initial explosion of the Gospel. No, that power is for everyone as was prophesied by the prophet Joel long before the time of Jesus:

28   “And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions.

29   And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.[1]

The promise is ALL flesh. And That includes you!

[1] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Joe 2:28–29.