Pastoral Connection: The Mission of Jesus Tells His Story by His Resurrection

April 7, 2024

 Reread Acts 1:1 – 11

“What if we waited on the Holy Spirit just as they did?”

God created the heavens and the earth. He filled it with creatures of many kinds, and then He made a man and a woman in his own image. He set them up so that they could spread the Lord’s light throughout the world, starting in the Garden of Eden and then over the whole planet. Instead, Adam and Eve failed. They sinned. Instead, they succeeded in filling the world with people who bear the Lord’s image but are sinners, separated from a direct relationship with the Lord.

We were unable to spread the Lord’s light throughout the world, due to Adam and Eve’s failure as well as our own. Jesus had to come to us at our level, meet us, suffer, and die for us, and then rise again to pay the price for that sin. But that payment was not the end. After exhibiting many divine wonders, Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within all believers.

It is only now, as believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, that we are finally able to move throughout the Earth. Our sins are forgiven through Jesus, and we can carry the presence of God through the Holy Spirit living within us. We are charged to continue doing so until we spread His message to every tongue, tribe and every nation on the earth and then He will return.

Dive Deeper

Romans 8:10 – 11 “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Hebrews 1:3 “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Matthew 5:14-16 “’You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’”

Practical Application

When you receive the gift of salvation and submit to the Lordship of King Jesus, you bear His presence to the world. What are some of the ways you are carrying His presence where you go?

How will others know? Do others around you notice that you are bearing His presence to them? Do you bring His peace and joy into the atmosphere in your places of influence?

Make a list of the places you go during the week, i.e., work, the market, school, homes of family and friends, etc. and pray that you carry His presence into each of those places.